Dark Path
by Dax Jendo
Summary: Cordell has been retrieved, but another has been lost. Why can't Cordell remember what he has done? Is there some greater power behind it all? And if so, what does it want?
1. Dramatis Personae

Disclaimer: Once again. I don't wanna dis Mr. Lucas or anyone at Lucas Arts, so I claim no ownership of Star Wars, the characters, planets, or anything else that has to do with it.

Star Wars: Post Vong Era

Dark Path

**Dramatis Personae**

The Adults

Tahiri Veila: Jedi Teacher (female human)

Lowbacca: Jedi Knight (male Wookiee)

Luke Skywalker: Jedi Master (male human)

Kam Twoplintor: Captain of _Twilight Trekker_ (male human)

Din Holnt: Jedi Knight (male Kamino)

Ben Skywalker: Jedi Knight (male human)

The Kids

Cordell Durron: Jedi Student (male human)

Jyo Durron: Jedi Student (male human)

Zeek Solo: Padawan to Din Holnt (male human)

Tay Norat'k: Jedi Healer (female Twi'lek)

Salah Jem: Jedi Student (female human)

Todan Ems: Jedi Student (male human)

Nayanll Ohm: Jedi Student (female Bothan)

Others

M-TD: assistant to Lowbacca (protocol droid)

Pan: no data 


	2. Prologue: What has come before

**What Has Come Before…**

**(Prologue)**

They called themselves the "Cousin Crew." They did almost everything together, including share their excitement.

"I can't wait till we get to the Core!" Zeek exclaimed. "Do you really think Master Skywalker meant it when he said our first test when we got there was to build our own lightsabers?"

Jyo spoke for everyone when he replied, "I hope so!"

"Should we try to find Cordell and work this out?" Zeek asked.

"No," Jyo said. "I think I know why he did what he did and said what he said. He's done it before at the Installation. These little outbursts are really just his way of blowing off some really pent up energy."

"Energy, huh?" Denz scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"Trust me. By the time we get to the Core Worlds he'll act as if that conversation we just had never happened."

"Should he be considered dangerous when this buildup becomes too great?" Zeek asked worriedly.

"…I'm afraid that in a desperate attempt to relieve his pent up power, he will almost unknowingly turn to the Dark side!"

"It's Jedi lesson 101," Jyo said. "Anger leads to hate, and hate leads to suffering."

"Ugh, he's using the orb I modified," Denz groaned. "I told him I hadn't had a chance to test it yet."

"Looks like he's testing it for you now," Zeek said still watching intently.

Cordell was really moving in there. Every now and then, the other students would clap lightly for an exceptionally impressive display. The laser bolts were firing almost non-stop and in an extremely random order. Denz, Jyo, and Zeek watched along with the other students as Cordell rolled to the left to avoid a volley of shots and jumped out of the roll to avoid being hit in the foot. As he landed, Cordell ducked another shot then swayed left to dodge another.

The hyperspace alarm blared in the forward viewing area where Denz, Jyo, Cordell, and Zeek stood, anxious to see their new home. The white of hyperspace became fine white streaks before reverting to their normal state as small points of light called stars. Straight ahead the four friends saw the lush, green world that had been donated specifically to the Jedi for their part in repelling the Yuuzhan Vong. Luke, being the "leader" of the Jedi, was chosen to give the Jedi's new home a suitable name. Luke had appropriately named the planet of the peacekeepers and protectors, Jedron or the place where all journeys begin and end.

"Wow!" Zeek breathed.

"This is the first time I've seen an actual planet!" Cordell stated, wide-eyed.

"It's the first time for all of us," Denz reminded him.

Jyo was speechless with awe.

As the four gazed upon their new home, where they would grow physically and in their Jedi abilities, they dreamed of the adventures that would take place there and those that would lead them to the far reaches of the galaxy. It was like a new beginning for them here. Here they would have the room and freedom to grow and develop into their own persons, different from one another in many ways. They saw themselves being presented with numerous decisions that they would have to make, and in the end their choices may decide if someone lives or dies, chooses the light side or falls to the seduction of the dark side.

Although the four friends knew not exactly what their new home held for them, they were certain that this planet and what happened to them on it, would change each of their individual lives forever….

Denz didn't have much luck though, sitting on his bed trying to think of the parts necessary to make his new idea come to life. He huffed a sigh of disgust, "Maybe I'll be able to think better with more people around," he said to himself. Denz left his room after all and poked his head through the door to the lounge. There were a couple students in the room either on a computer or reading one of the books from the library upstairs. Denz noticed someone at a table with paper and a pencil and decided to go see if he was doing something interesting. As he approached the kid, Denz recognized him. With his shoulder length, black hair pulled into a ponytail and short stature he was impossible to mistake. His name was Todan Ems. Denz had seen him just like this on the space station many times. Todan seemed to spend as much time drawing as he did training to be a Jedi. "Hey, Todan!"

The black haired boy glanced up from his work and gave Denz the peace sign, his traditional greeting. Denz sat down across from Todan and asked him what he was drawing now. Instead of answering, Todan turned his sheet of paper around and slid it toward Denz. He took one glance at it and gave a low whistle. Though all around the edges of the paper were little doodles, right in the center was what looked like very detailed specs for a lightsaber.

"Looks nice Todan, but aren't we supposed to use the Force to guide us through the construction of our weapons?"

Todan finally spoke, "I know that's how we're supposed to do it, but I figure if I get stuck all I have to do is glance at this and it'll put me back on track."

Denz shook his head, "Whatever you say, Todan."

Not ten minutes after Todan started on his way did Salah Jem, her red hair tied back in a bun, exit her room and walk quickly toward the door to the lounge. Just as she was passing Jyo's room, the door swished open, Jyo rushed out, and ran right into her. They fell down in a heap.

"Hey!" Salah exclaimed. "Watch where you're going!"

Jyo blushed with embarrassment as he climbed to his feet and offered to help her up.

"Thanks," she said with a hint of sarcasm as she grabbed his offered hand and was hoisted her to her feet. She brushed herself off and continued toward the lounge without another word.

Jyo followed in embarrassed silence.

Lowbacca grinned wide when he saw not one, but two Jedi students step into the lounge. He examined both of their lightsabers at once. After which, they clipped them back to their belts, Jyo's on his side, and Salah's behind her back. The still grinning Wookiee then handed them food and water for their journey.

The creature held out a gloved hand and in a surprisingly high but raspy voice said, "Water."

Denz didn't move at first, and then slowly reached for his canteen. He poured water into the cap and handed it to the stranger.

The hooded figure slurped the liquid thirstily. When he tilted his head back to drink, Denz thought he saw what looked like pink fur. The creature handed the top back to Denz and spoke again, "Thank you for your generosity. In return, I would like to give you this." The hooded creature pulled from beneath his cloak a small paper bag.

Cordell slid the lightsaber back into its holder and grabbed the other stuff as he charged out the door. As he ran, Cordell slung the pack onto his back and the canteen around his neck. _This is it! Now that I have a lightsaber, I'll show everyone how powerful I really am._

It was getting even harder to see in the forest, if that was possible, but Cordell was still able to spot the two orb-shaped things trying to block his path. He ignited his blade at full speed, jumped into the air, and destroyed both orbs with a single horizontal swipe. Cordell landed without losing much forward momentum and kept going as two more orbs appeared behind him. They opened fire, and Cordell half-turned, deflecting the two shots back at them. The orbs exploded simultaneously. Not even breaking his stride, Cordell turned to face forward again and grinned to himself; he was enjoying all the fun he was having.

There was no warm up. No testing of each other's skills. As soon as Tahiri announced the start, Cordell attacked using his great speed to his advantage.

This was fine with Denz, though. He didn't want the fight to be boring. And boring it certainly wasn't. One thought continued to circulate through Cordell's mind: _I MUST WIN!_

As Denz, still using only one hand, blocked and parried all of Cordell's two-handed attacks, another thought was added on to the original: _AT ANY COST!_

Then it happened. Cordell stopped Denz's attack mid-swing, but not with his lightsaber. With his left hand, Cordell had grabbed Denz's right wrist, stopping the attack cold.

Jyo vaguely heard Tahiri call out an end to the match, but he knew it was not over.

Cordell did not release his hold on Denz. He did not even turn and acknowledge Tahiri. His cold, emotionless eyes bore into Denz's, filled with confusion and worry. Cordell grinned, and you could hear the cracking of bone as with one quick motion, he broke Denz's wrist. The turquoise lightsaber clattered to the stone floor and shut off, as Denz groaned in pain. Tahiri called again for Cordell to stop, as she stood, a little uncertain as to what she should do.

Cordell didn't move for a moment, and everything was silent. Then the quiet was broken by a laugh. It came from Cordell. Not a laugh of joy or insanity, but a laugh of satisfaction.

Denz knew what was coming. Not because he had foreseen it like Jyo had, but because when he had looked into Cordell's eyes, he had not seen his friend, but someone else. With whom there would be no pleading or voice of reason. Denz thought of what his future could have been like, instead of what it was going to be … nonexistent.

In what seemed like slow motion, Cordell swung his golden blade in a long upward arc that picked Denz up and threw him several feet away, a smoldering black mark from his left hip, almost strait up to just right of his neck.

When Cordell turned to look at what he had done, he acted surprised and repulsed, the exact same reaction as everyone else who had witnessed it. Cordell fell to his knees and deactivated his lightsaber. He knelt there and stared at his weapon as things he did not acknowledge, went on around him. _What have I done?_ was a thought that went through his mind, but it was overpowered by another idea: _Look at what I have the power to do!_

From out of nowhere, a voice spoke: _Clever deduction Denz Solo._

Denz knew this voice. He had only heard the low, nasally tone once before. "It's you! The one from the woods!"

_Correct again_, came the sound again. _And you may call me Pan._

The voice sounded so close, so vivid, unlike listening to the voices of those outside his bacta tank. _He must me communicating with me straight through the Force,_ Denz thought.

_My! You are perceptive._

Tay gasped and backed up against a wall of the medical ward. Denz's body had suddenly started to shake violently. _He can't be waking up already! It's only been twenty-eight hours!_ She nervously told herself.

Tay was just about to call for assistance, when Denz just as suddenly became still again. The fright had knocked the wind out of her, and Tay found herself bent over, gasping for air. When she looked up, Tay noticed something different about Denz. More color had suddenly returned to his skin. She moved her gaze up to his face, and almost passed out when she saw him looking back at her.

"Let me out."

The request was muffled due to the breath mask, but it was still clear enough for Tay to hear and understand; but she could not move. She sat there on the floor gaping at what should have been an unconscious Jedi student in a bacta tank.

Denz's brow creased when she did not move. He frowned, and the bacta tank cracked and shattered, causing bacta to spill out and drench tables, chairs, equipment, and Tay. Denz stepped out of the ruined bacta tank, ripping off the breath mask as he did, and throwing on a robe. He stepped over to Tay and asked, "Where are my garments?"

Tay, still on the floor, did not respond. She merely pointed a shaking finger at a drawer. Denz rummaged around in the shredded clothing for a moment, and, without another word, left the medical ward.

Denz frowned and placed his hand on the door, which blew into the room and landed with a loud crash. Salah gasped and stepped back. Inside the room, Tahiri and Lowbacca sat at a table holding datapads. Their expressions bore surprise; not only for the destruction of the door, but also for the fact that Denz was standing in Tahiri's doorway.

"Wha … What?"

Lowbacca growled in confusion.

Tahiri tried to rise but found that she could not move.

Denz smiled at this, "How does it feel to be helpless, Tahiri?"

Now Tahiri looked confused and even more surprised. "What are you talking about?"

"While I was in that bacta tank, I could tell almost exactly what was going on. I was helpless to stop Cordell from leaving or keep Jyo, Zeek and Todan from going after him. However, you were out here and had full power and authority to keep them here if you had wanted to. But instead you let them all go, based on the assumption that it was the will of the Force. Well I'm not about to entrust the safety of my friends and family to "the will of the Force". I am going after them. Not because no one else will, but because no one else can. Once I leave the Jome, you will be able to move again. Although I doubt you would come after me anyway." Denz turned and left the room, and Salah followed in stunned silence.

"Hmph! I say we just let the thing kill Cordell and be done with it." Todan grumbled.

Jyo ignored the remark and focused on coming up with a plan.

Kam grunted from behind them as he set down his large shoulder bag. He unzipped it and pulled out a laser canon. "My aim isn't perfect with this thing, so I should probably try to shoot it in the front or back. Don't wanna take a chance on missin' when it's standin' sideways."

Jyo nodded, "Cordell! Did you hear that?"

Cordell seemed to have finally come to his senses, "Forget it, Jyo! I can take this thing down myself." As he said this, Cordell pulled out his lightsaber and ignited it.

"Cordell! NO!"

The vort made a sort of growl-hiss as if agitated. It had not expected its food to be so difficult to kill. It took a step toward Cordell but suddenly changed its mind. Something convinced the vort that there was easier prey to its right. When it turned, it saw not one but three Jedi, as well as a large man aiming something big at it.

"Do it now!" Jyo told Kam.

"Roger!" Kam replied and pulled the trigger.

A large blast shot from the laser canon and hit the vort, square in the chest. It did not penetrate, and it did not seem like it did much damage, but the blast did knock the vort back about thirty feet. Long marks in the dirt were evident from where the vort had dug in its clawed feet to try and stop its slide.

"Shoot it again! Quick!" Zeek instructed.

Kam let loose again and delivered another direct hit. This time the vort was lifted off of its feet as it flew backward into a building at about fifty miles per hour. Before the vort could even fall to the ground from where it had hit, Kam fired the laser canon once more. The blast struck the base of the building, causing it to collapse, burying the vort.

Jyo glanced toward Cordell and saw him running full tilt in their direction – with his lightsaber still lit. Jyo realized where Cordell was looking, "NO, CORDELL DON'T!"

Too fast for Kam to react, Cordell ran past him, swinging his lightsaber once as he went by.

Kam fell to the ground, his right arm gone, severed at the shoulder. The big man yelled in agony before passing out.

"Idiot." Cordell said without turning around. "He should not have interfered with my fight." Behind him he heard the sound of three lightsabers igniting.

Denz nodded and walked determinedly into the darkness.

He disappeared from sight as Salah shook her head to clear it. She knew he had just used a mind trick on her, but didn't dare go after him. Suddenly she saw a flash of light and a spark as two things that would not cut each other collided. The blade of light moved again and there was another spark. Then the tempo increased and the light moved faster. _Is that another lightsaber?_ Salah asked herself. She closed her eyes and shook her head again, but when she opened her eyes, it was over.

Denz called out from the darkness, "Let's go!"

"Promise me that you won't kill Cordell. I don't think he is to blame for his actions."

"You mean something or someone is controlling him?"

Denz shook his head. "I'm not certain. So, do you promise?"

Salah nodded as they rounded the final corner. Salah kept going, but Denz stopped in his tracks and soaked up what he saw. Kam lay on his back and was missing an arm; Zeek looked like he had been thrown against the building he slumped against; Jyo was face down in the sand and dirt with no wounds Denz could see; and Todan was engaged in a duel with Cordell.

Feelings of hate and revenge boiled to the surface of Denz's being, and he fought to keep them from becoming actions. Denz vaguely saw Salah join Todan as they began attacking Cordell together. Denz slipped out of sight and found that he was breathing heavily. His hands itched to hold a lightsaber and to use it against Cordell. Denz shook his head to clear it, and realized that he could not face Cordell yet. He determined that he would not face him until he was sure that he was ready. Quickly and quietly Denz disappeared into the darkness.

"What happened to you guys?" A voice asked quietly.

Salah looked to see who had asked such a question and was shocked to find that it was Cordell. "What's that supposed to mean?" She shot back hotly.

"Exactly like it sounds," he replied with a shrug as he looked around and saw the destroyed building and a couple of badly injured people. "What happened here?"

"YOU HAPPENED!!!"

"What're you talking about?"

"You're a monster, Cordell!"

"Me? I couldn't have done this!"

Suddenly, Salah realized it. Denz had been right. Something had been controlling Cordell, and he didn't remember a thing.


	3. Chapter 1

**Part 1:**

Released

**Chapter 1**

"But I didn't do it!" The blond young Jedi insisted.

Cordell, almost fifteen, sat across from Luke Skywalker who was questioning him on his actions on Myrkyr. The Jedi Student crossed his arms defiantly, unwilling to change his answer.

"Your friends all saw you, Cordell. Some of which you injured yourself, and according to Todan, you threatened to kill as well." The Jedi Master replied calmly.

Cordell sighed deeply. "Look," he said. "When I fought Denz, I remember stopping an attack of his, and then the next thing I know, he's laying on his back with a long lightsaber slash from his hip to his shoulder. I was able to put two and two together and realized that I did it, but I didn't know why. I didn't want to hurt Denz, just beat him."

"Why did you run?"

"Isn't that obvious? The first chance I got, I hopped on a ship and got off of this planet. I knew I would get in trouble for doing what I did, so I planned to go somewhere else and try to do a lot of good things to make up for it."

"So you went to Myrkyr?" Luke prompted.

"Yeah."

"And you did some good in that city … Dryknar?"

Cordell nodded. "I was basically policin' the place. Nothing serious. Until I came across that creature with snakes for arms."

Luke raised an eyebrow at this. "Yes, the others described the creature to me in the same way. It was actually what our spies have labeled a vort; but that's beside the point. What did you do when you encountered the vort?"

Cordell blushed, "Truthfully, I froze. It wasn't until Jyo and the others arrived and snapped me out of it that I had the sense enough to draw my lightsaber."

After a moment of silence, Luke urged Cordell to continue.

"That's the strange part." Cordell went on. "I remember refusing their help, but I don't know why. Then I began to attack the … vort? Well, that's when it all gets blurry. I thought the vort had knocked me out, and when I woke up, I assumed that the vort had caused all the damage as well."

Luke leaned back in his chair and rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"You don't believe me do you?"

The Jedi Master shook his head. "That's just it. I know you're telling the truth. I can sense it. But that still doesn't explain…"

A rap on the door interrupted him.

"Come in."

The door slid open and Tahiri stepped into the room. "Master Skywalker," she began, "there's something you should see."

Luke sighed and rose to follow Tahiri, and when Cordell fell in behind him, Luke did not stop him. The trio exited the room into the hallway of the advanced students' Jome, or Jedi home. At the opposite end of the hallway was a small crowd of students gathered in front of one of the rooms.

The Jedi Students parted to let Luke through. The Jedi Master soon found himself standing in front of what he thought had been Denz Solo's room. He noticed Todan Ems, his long black hair pulled into a ponytail, tinkering with the control panel for the door.

"What did you want to show me?" Luke asked and startled Todan, who did not realize the Jedi Master had come up behind him.

Without a word, Todan nodded and pressed a button on the control panel. A life-size, holographic image of Denz appeared in front of the door. The image frowned as it began to speak. "If you are watching this message, that means I did not return from Myrkyr with Jyo, Zeek, Salah, and the others. If Zeek says he felt me die, then disregard the rest of this message; but most likely, the reason I did not return was because I could not trust myself. When I say this, it means that I could not trust myself not to act on my emotions and take revenge on Cordell for what he did; not only to me, but to my friends as well." The holographic recording paused as if thinking then continued. "I would ask you not to try to find me. I will return when I feel I am able to put the past behind me. And as for keeping out of danger … well I can't promise anything." The hologram grinned slightly as it began to fade, and then disappeared altogether.

Luke shook his head and asked, "When did you discover this?"

"When we tried to get into his room." Todan said.

Luke turned to look at Todan who now stood to the left of the door to Denz's room.

Next to him, a girl Luke recognized as Salah Jem continued. "Zeek asked us to see if we could find anything that would hint as to the whereabouts of his brother." She sighed in frustration. "But the lock was heavily encoded, and when Todan thought he had finally broken through, that holographic message played."

"Now all you have to do is push the 'open door' button to get the message to play." Todan finished.

Now that he was facing him, Luke noticed the scar over Todan's left eye; a wound he received from Cordell on Myrkyr. "And you still haven't been able to get the door open, right?"

Todan shook his head. "I don't know what he did to this thing, but it looks like the door has been completely rewired. It's going to take some time for me sort it all out and get it working properly again."

"Make it a project of yours." Luke said as the crowd of Students dispersed.

"I hope this doesn't become a trend." A voice said from behind Luke.

He turned and saw Zeek hobbling toward them on crutches, his right leg in a cast. "What do you mean?" The Jedi Master inquired.

Zeek's grin was forced as he answered. "Retrieve one Jedi, lose another."

"Don't worry, Zeek." Luke said. "Despite the message Denz left, I am still going to put together a small team that will go out and search for him. You just focus on getting better."

Zeek nodded and smiled, genuinely this time.

"I just feel awful knowing that Denz is gone because I let Jyo, Zeek and Todan go after Cordell." This came from Tahiri.

Luke shook his head. "It's me who's to blame. You were just following orders."

Luke and Tahiri, followed by Cordell, walked back down the hallway from whence they had come.

"Well, good luck with the door, Todan." Salah said.

"Where are you going?" He asked.

"To visit Tay at the medical dome."

Todan gave Zeek a sidelong glance and said, "In other words, she wants to go spend time with Jyo."

"TODAN!" Salah growled as she whacked him on the head.

"OW! What?!"

Salah huffed and walked away.

Todan rubbed his head and grumbled, "Why are redheads always so violent?"

Zeek laughed, and then his thoughts drifted to Denz. _I wonder what he's doing right now._


	4. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Several weeks later, Zeek walked out of the Jome, crutch-free. He was told to go meet Kam at the spaceport, and that he should get there before they arrive.

_What did she mean by _they Zeek pondered Tahiri's words as he jogged across the open grassy area between the Jome and the spaceport.

Kam had decided to go back to hauling cargo and passengers for a living. After Cordell cut off his right arm on Myrkyr, Kam had deemed his old job "more appealing", if not safer. Zeek, however, did not think Kam was out of the adventure business yet.

Zeek reached the hangars and inquired as to where Kam's ship was scheduled to land. When Zeek finally reached his destination, he was pleased to find that he had indeed arrived before "them".

Zeek sat down and waited. Growing more and more curious about who Kam was bringing with him.

Tay Norat'k finished removing the bandages that covered the entire left side of Jyo Durron's face. As the cloth fell away, Tay smiled. "Good as new." She stated.

Jyo reached up and tentatively touched his left cheek. Though still tender, Jyo held his hand there as he worked his jaw for the first time in almost a month. He finished his self-examination satisfied that everything worked correctly.

Both he and Zeek had decided to let their injuries heal naturally instead of using a bacta tank. Besides the fact that they were not life threatening wounds, neither was in a hurry to be put in a bacta tank after they heard what happened to Denz.

"Here."

Jyo had come to recognize Salah's voice and felt something being placed in his hand. All Jyo could see was a blur of light and color, but he recognized the feel of what he was holding.

"I figured you might need these."

Jyo brought the object up to his face, hooked the arms around his ears, and let it rest on his nose. He felt for a button on the side and pressed it. Jyo's vision cleared in an instant, and he was able to actually see Tay and Salah.

"How did you know I had a spare?" Jyo asked Salah.

Salah shrugged. "I didn't know. I just kind of wondered out loud one day about how you were going to see without your glasses. Zeek heard me and said that you had a backup pair in your room. I guess you never took the time to encode your door, so I simply peeked in and saw them lying on your desk. I decided to come back for them when the day came for your bandages to come off."

Jyo smiled and simply said, "Thanks."

They sat in silence for a moment, and then Tay cleared her throat. "Well, despite your refusal to use bacta, your wounds healed nicely. There won't even be any scars from the blow you received. Other than your jaw being a little tender for a few days, you should be ready to go."

"Thanks, doc." Jyo said with a grin as he rose from the hospital bed. Realizing he was still wearing a hospital gown, Jyo asked for some real clothes, which Tay promptly pulled from a drawer and placed on the bed. Jyo gestured at the door and said, "Do you mind?"

Tay and Salah got the hint and left the room. Moments later, Jyo stepped out clad in white T-shirt, brown pants and black sneakers.

"So, what would you like to do now that you can talk again?" Salah asked.

Jyo frowned slightly. "I think I need to have a chat with Cordell."

Kam Twoplintor walked down the landing ramp of the _Twilight Trekker_ and waved to Zeek. Kam's right arm was no longer flesh and bone, but a biotic replacement. After Cordell had severed Kam's arm on Myrkyr, he had actually chosen to have it replaced by a robotic arm instead of reattaching his real one. "Hey, Zeek!" He called.

Zeek waved back and started toward him.

"How's the leg?" Kam asked.

"I walked over here didn't I?" Zeek said with a smile.

Kam laughed heartily and clapped Zeek on the back with his real hand. "That you did, little guy. That you did."

As Zeek struggled to keep his balance, he asked about Kam's mystery passenger.

Kam slapped his forehead. "Oh, yeah! I almost forgot." He turned and gestured at the landing ramp. "Zeek Solo, meet Kamino Jedi Knight, Din Holnt."

As Kam said his name, Din Holnt, a tall, slender creature, walked down the landing ramp. He wore a long black cloak that greatly contrasted his pale skin. When he was clear of the bottom of the ship, Zeek realized just how tall he really was. Din Holnt stood to his full height, which was about nine to ten feet tall.

Zeek, not having had his growth spurt yet, was only as tall as the Kamino's upper leg.

Din Holnt bent over slightly and extended his fragile-looking hand. "Pleased to finally meet you." He said in a smooth rumbling voice.

Zeek reached up and shook Din's hand. He did not respond as he gazed into Din's eyes, which were like pools of dark blue fluid.

Din's pale hand released Zeek's, and he asked, "What do you mean 'finally'?"

Kam broke in and answered. "I told him all 'bout how you created that rock storm that saved that feller Jyo's life."

"Yes, you seem to be greatly developed in your knowledge of the Force." Din added.

Zeek blushed. _Should I tell him that I was only half trying because Cordell was my opponent?_ He thought.

Din's small mouth formed a smile as if knowing what Zeek was thinking. "I think I would like to see what you could really do before I take you on as my Padawan."

"Y…You're…You're Padawan?!" Zeek exclaimed.

Din's long, slender neck bent slightly as he nodded. "Were you not told?"

Zeek shook his head in awe.

"If I deem you ready for the part, you will be leaving Jedron with me with the title of Padawan within the next couple of days."

Zeek thought he would faint. "But Tahiri was talking about almost two years of training before anyone became a Padawan!"

Din nodded again. "This is true. However, after hearing of the skill you displayed on Myrkyr, as well as how you aided in the care for Denz when he was injured by Cordell; Tahiri and even Master Skywalker commented on how advanced your abilities have become for someone of your age. In fact, they are the ones who suggested that you become a Padawan immediately. They believe that your abilities will continue to develop and at a greater rate if you go out on missions then if you were to train here at the academy."

"What kind of missions?" Zeek asked.

"We will do whatever we are assigned to do. But for now, let us get something to eat and get to know each other a little better."

Zeek nodded in agreement. He needed to sit down anyway.

"Hoo boy!" Kam said. "Now that you mention it, I am downright starvin'. Let's chow down!"

Jyo entered the Jome followed by Salah. Several students who were glad to see that he was okay greeted him enthusiastically. He did not stop to chat, though as he made his way out of the lounge and into the hallway.

Todan, in his traditional spot in front of Denz's door, flashed Jyo the peace sign as he walked past. Jyo responded with a thumbs-up and a nod.

Before Jyo and Salah reached the end of the corridor, a frustrated-looking Luke Skywalker stepped out of the last room on the right. When he saw Jyo; however, he smiled. "Jyo! How are you feeling?"

"Good as new, Master Skywalker." Jyo answered, but then jumped right to the point. "I'd like to speak with my brother."

Luke pointed at the door he had just come out of. "Try as I might, I cannot get Cordell to see what he did on Myrkyr or figure out why he did it. Hopefully your sibling link will allow you to get deeper than I could."

Jyo nodded determinedly as he entered the room and shut the door before Salah could follow him in.

"Hey!" She said.

Luke placed a hand on her shoulder. "I think it would be best if Jyo went one on one with Cordell. It is not necessary for you to be involved."

Salah sighed and nodded. She knew Master Skywalker was right, but she could not help feeling that there was a special connection between her and Jyo, ever since that time in the forest when he cared for her wound. All Salah knew was that she would always be there for him.


	5. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Zeek was too nervous to eat anything. He just sat there while Kam stuffed his face, and Din ate some fruit.

"Don't you want anything, young Solo?" Din asked.

"Yeah … **crunch munch** … aren't you hungry?" Kam said between bites.

Zeek shook his head.

Din stood from the table. "Well, let's have you take that test of mine so you can eat again."

Zeek rose as well and followed Din out of the cafeteria.

As they left, Todan walked in and saw Kam. He walked over and sat down across from him. "Do you mind if I…?"

Kam nodded his head and said with his mouth full, "Mo might ahmead."

"Groovy!" Todan said as he dug in.

Din and Zeek entered the recreation center near the Jomes and got a few stares. Din informed the Students present that he was a Jedi Knight, and that he would appreciate it if they would all please move over to one side of the room. No one questioned him as they went to sit with their backs up against one of the walls.

Din turned to Zeek and said, "Let's start by seeing how high you can jump. I expect you to hold nothing back."

Zeek nodded, determined. He set himself, focused, and propelled himself into a Force enhanced jump. Zeek launched himself almost twenty feet in the air, and then he slowed his descent with the Force.

Din smiled. "Next, your physical strength." He pointed to a hanging sandbag.

Zeek assumed a sideways stance in front of the bag with his right hand back. He focused on giving his right hand strength, and then punched the bag with all his might. The chain it hung by, snapped as the bag flew backward into the far wall. It slammed into the wall with a loud **crash**; then slid down and settled against the wall.

Din eyed the indent the bag had made in the wall and said, "You need to work on getting your strength up quicker."

Zeek only nodded.

"Finally, a test to see how agile you are when it comes to moving things with the Force." He pointed to a pile of weights stacked in a corner.

The weights rose from the floor and began to fly through the air barely missing Zeek, Din and the other Students. Zeek yawned as if to say that moving a bunch of heavy weights was no big thing.

As Zeek replaced the weights, Din stated, "I'm not even going to ask how much weight is the max you can lift."

"So do I pass?"

Din nodded. "I am really looking forward to having you with me during my next mission … uh, I mean, our next mission."

Zeek smiled proudly as Din and his new apprentice left the recreation center. The other Students, as they went back to training, mumbled amongst themselves about what they had just seen.

Cordell slumped in his seat. The images played over and over in his head. Jyo had shown Cordell, through his memories, what had happened on Myrkyr. Cordell had seen everything through Jyo's eyes, right up until he himself had kicked Jyo unconscious.

"I … I … I am so sorry, Jyo."

Jyo sighed. "You know I forgive you, Cordell; but in reality, it may not have been completely your fault. Salah believes that someone might have controlled you somehow."

Cordell just sat and shook his head in disgust.

Jyo sighed. Remembering the whole ordeal in such detail had taken it out of him. "I think that's enough for today." He said to Cordell.

Jyo's brother just nodded sullenly as he followed Jyo out of the room. Jyo wanted to do some reading to relax so he turned into one of the turbolifts.

Cordell went in the other direction toward his room. Jyo noticed the Bothan, Nayanll Ohm, fall in behind Cordell and watched him closely. Jyo reminded himself that Master Luke had personally asked her to keep an eye on Cordell for a while. The turbolift door swished shut, and Jyo shot up toward the library.

Cordell ignored Nayanll for the most part and went into his room. Nayanll seated herself outside of Cordell's room and made herself as aware as possible so as to detect anything wrong before it happened. As usual, however, she soon found herself distracted by the boy sitting across the hallway tinkering with the same door he had been tinkering on for weeks now.

Meanwhile, Cordell had collapsed on his bed. In his head, he went over the events that had taken place on Myrkyr. Slowly, a smile crept onto his face; then he chuckled, and remembering that Nayanll was right outside, reverted to silent laughter. All across Jedron, Students, Teachers, Masters, and Padawans felt it -- a disturbance in the Force. Something had shifted.

Pan smiled when he felt Cordell's hidden power bubble to the surface of his being. All it had taken was for him to remember what he had been able to do on Myrkyr. Pan had thought his efforts wasted when Cordell did not remember the events that had taken place. But thanks to his brother, Jyo, Cordell now had an avid picture of his capabilities. Cordell would not need Pan to push him over the edge next time. All of Cordell's power and hostility that he had bottled up for so long was now at his fingertips. Ready to be used any way he wanted to. Cordell had undoubtedly begun down the Dark Path.

_Now only one component remains_, Pan told himself. But he would be patient. Eventually the two pieces would come together. Then the question would be answered.

For now, though, he would shield Cordell from suspicion. In fact, by morning, no one remembered feeling the disturbance the previous night.

Several days later, Din Holnt and Zeek Solo met Tahiri and Lowbacca at the spaceport. "Are you ready to see the craft you will be using on you mission?" Tahiri asked unnecessarily.

Both the Jedi Knight and Apprentice nodded with enthusiasm.

Tahiri led them to a nearby hangar, where a long, sleek craft with an almost reflective surface, had been berthed. Although almost three times the length of an X-wing, it was clear that this ship was made for speed and maneuverability.

Lowbacca roared.

"Yes, Lowie." Tahiri responded. "It is beautiful. You and that Krison Glynt kid did a magnificent job; and pretty much from scratch too."

"What is it?" Zeek asked, his mouth hanging open a tad.

"This," Tahiri said gesturing, "is the first remake of a Naboo Cruiser. Although not heavily armed, its speed, agility and shield power can't be beat. And I know it may seem big, but only one person is needed to pilot it."

Lowbacca barked at her.

"Thanks to Lowie that is. He simplified the controls so that only one person, instead of three, would be necessary to pilot the Cruiser."

Lowbacca moaned as he tapped Tahiri on the shoulder, as if reminding her of something.

"Oh, yes! Master Skywalker holophoned me earlier to tell me to tell you that he wishes he could have been here to see you off. But right now he's on Coruscant with Jacen, Jaina, Tenal-Ka, Kyp, and Ben, trying to get those dumb diplomats to decide on a logical course of action for restoring the planet." Tahiri paused to take a breath. "So, with that said, I wish you both 'Good luck' on your mission. And may the Force be with you."

Neither Din nor Zeek moved for a moment, then as his master began to lope toward the ship, Zeek fell in behind and to the right of him.

Inside the Naboo Cruiser was just as amazing as the outside. A quick inventory revealed at least five private quarters, a cafeterium, and a hold large enough to carry a small fighter. Although now it was filled with supplies and other things Din and Zeek might need on their journey.

When the duo made it to the cockpit, Din was surprised to find the pilot's chair had been custom made to fit his physique. As he settled into it and Zeek into the standard co-pilot chair, Din asked Zeek, in his low rumbling voice, if he was ready.

Zeek took a deep breath and smiled as he turned to face Din. "You betcha! Let's fly!"

Later that day, Tahiri locked herself in her quarters and spoke privately with Luke Skywalker over the holophone.

"And what was the mission directive you gave Din Holnt and Zeek Solo again?" Luke was asking.

"To seek out and dispose of the vorts popping up on various planets." Tahiri replied.

"You have supplied them with a list of planets and geographical locations on these worlds where…?"

Tahiri nodded. "As per your orders. But could you explain to me again why you had me deceive them, so they thought they were hunting vorts?"

Luke sighed. "Our information is limited, unfortunately. All the recounts by our eyewitnesses are generally the same. Just as they were about to engage a vort they had discovered, they hesitated. And these are highly trained Jedi Knights! Anyway, they all remember seeing a cloaked being appear as if from nowhere, for they had not sensed it. The being would approach the vort outright, and the next thing anyone ever remembers is seeing the vort lying in a smoldering heap or in pieces, and the hooded being disappeared."

"But Master Skywalker, why send only a Knight and an Apprentice out to apprehend, or at least reveal the identity of this mysterious vort-slayer? I mean, he's obviously no pushover."

The holographic image of Luke changed as he must have sat down and began to shake his head. "Call it a hunch or a feeling. For now, send any new information you receive from Holnt and Solo directly to me. If they run across this mysterious character and ask your permission to investigate, give it to them. Also, if they assume they can keep it from you, allow them to think so, as they will probably track down the stranger on their own."

"I just hope you're right about those two."


	6. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Din Holnt set the brand new, Naboo Cruiser down at the small spaceport on Duro. The planet had been largely inhabitable due to the high levels of toxins in the air. That is, until the Vong took possession of the world. Using their own organic devices they were able to purify pretty much the entire planet. Even though the planet had no natural resources for the Vong to use, it still proved to be a strategic position for an attack on Coruscant; due to its close proximity to the Core Worlds.

As Din and Zeek disembarked, Zeek asked. "Where do we start?"

Din rubbed his slender jaw. "From what information I was given, it appears that Duro is sparsely populated. In fact, what we're in now could not even be called a city. It's more of a settlement. And there are dozens of settlements all over the planet."

"Great!" Zeek said sarcastically. "Well, at least there won't be many places for a vort to hide in the … uh … settlements."

Din chuckled. "Well, we aren't going to be walking from place to place now are we?" He pointed to a fairly new-looking shop with a picture of a speeder displayed out front. "Let's rent us some transportation, hmm?"

Cordell found it strange that no one had confronted him about the other night when he created that foreboding feeling. However, he did not worry about such things. Right now his only focus was to escape his makeshift prison and release some of the raw power he now held at his fingertips.

He realized that first he would have to distract his extremely attentive guard. Carefully he placed a suggestion in Nayanll's mind, that she should take a chance and talk to the odd (though intriguing) boy with the a streak of pink through his hair, and the dedication that had him working at the missing Student's door for many an hour.

Cordell felt Nayanll take the bait, and he himself moved to his barred window. _If I can just get out of here, not even Nayanll will be able to catch me._ Cordell placed his hands on the bars, and they slowly began to melt away. Once he created a large enough hole, he began to work on the glass in the same manner. He did not notice, however, when a piece of still-steaming bar began to stretch from the intense heat it had been under. The piece broke free and fell to the ground with a gentle _clink_.

_Uh oh!_ Cordell thought.

Out in the hallway, Nayanll had worked up a conversation with Todan when her sensitive ears picked up a noise from Cordell's room. She instinctively sensed trouble and lunged for the control panel.

Cordell spun around and pointed at the control panel on his side of the door. A bolt of Force lightning sprang from his finger and fried the panel. He turned and shattered the window as he dove through it into the night air.

Nayanll heard glass breaking just after the control panel blew up on her side. She whipped out her lightsaber, ignited her pink blade, and sliced open the door. She rushed inside, followed by Todan. When Nayanll reached the window and looked outside, Cordell was nowhere to be found. Nayanll shut off her lightsaber and growled deeply in frustration. Suddenly she gasped. "His lightsaber!"

Just as she spoke there was a loud _BOOM, _and the whole Jome seemed to shake. Todan and Nayanll ran out into the hallway and choked on the dirt- and dust-filled air. They made their way toward the turbolifts, only to find that they were completely destroyed at that level.

Cordell jumped out of the darkened shaft and through the hole in the wall he had made. As he landed outside the Jome, he heard someone yell his name behind him. He turned and saw Nayanll and Todan leap across the chasm. Cordell laughed, pointed, and launched an assault of Force lightning.

Todan sensed it coming and planted himself in front of Nayanll. He focused with all his might in deflecting the attack. Todan was able to draw it into his hands, but he was unable to make it bounce off. His arms filled with pain and then nothing.

The attack was over and Cordell was off again. Todan felt it as the jolt made its way through his body and collapsed when it reached his legs. He vaguely felt Nayanll catch him as he fell. Before the attack assaulted his mind, he remembered telling Nayanll to get to the spaceport, and then there was dark.

Cordell was indeed headed for the spaceport. He needed something fast and low profile. He needed to go somewhere he could test his abilities, somewhere with fewer Jedi. _Someday._ He thought._ When I am sure I am strong enough._

Jyo, Salah, and the rest of the advanced class (minus Todan, Nayanll and Cordell) sat listening to a lecture being given by Tahiri on questions to ask yourself to determine whether or not an act is of the dark side. Suddenly, Tahiri stopped speaking, and Jyo knew the entire class felt it too.

Jyo felt like someone had just dumped a bucket of ice water on him. The sensation was unbearable. The pain and suffering of someone they all knew; then there was nothing.

Confusion soon filled the room.

"What's going on?" Someone called.

"Why can't I sense anything wrong?" Another said.

Jyo could not understand it either. His Force perception had lost its clarity; almost like a fog had fallen over it. _What could cause this to happen?_

Dark energy so emanated from Cordell's body, that you could almost see it surrounding him. The things he had kept inside for so long: his dislike for Denz, his loathe for Jyo's intelligence, his jealousy of Zeek's Force abilities, and most of all his disappointment in himself for not having these abilities. But now he had them and more. If Cordell had known all this power could be his just by giving in to his evil emotions, he never would have waited this long to do so.

Cordell was coming up on the spaceport now, his speed still increasing. He blew past the guard stations so quickly he went unnoticed. And even though his cloak had kept him from being recognized or pinpointed by Jedi a mile or more away, he suddenly became aware that Lowbacca was nearby and had sensed him as well.

_There!_ Cordell thought as he saw Lowbacca emerge from one of the hangars and on either side of him were Krison Glynt and Kam Twoplintor. Krison leveled a blaster at Cordell and fired a stun beam.

Cordell slowed his run enough to dodge the blue bolt of energy. He responded with a bolt of Force lightning that hit the blaster, causing it to explode in Krison's hand. The young pilot dropped what was left of the weapon and held his hand in pain.

Cordell sensed what he was looking for was just a few hangars past Lowbacca and the others. Cordell saw Lowbacca growl into a comlink and guessed he had given Tahiri the heads up. This reminded Cordell of his own "special" comlink that Denz had made for him. _The one good thing Denz ever did for me,_ he thought as he unclipped the device from his wrist.

Cordell held down the red button and said, "Dark Disaster." He then hurled it with all his might at Lowbacca. He directed the throw with the Force, and even when all three of them dove in different directions, it still found its target.

No one had expected such a small device to pack such a large explosion. The blast hit Lowbacca with the most force, throwing him a football field's length backward into one of the hangar's walls. The Wookie's fur was singed and several bones had to have been broken from the impact. The aftershock also sent Kam and Krison tumbling. Krison hit his head and fell unconscious, while Kam merely rolled to a stop and sat up slowly, holding his head.

Cordell took the opportunity and dashed past him into one of the hangars that held an A-Wing. Cordell quickly closed the hatch and fired up the engines. Ignoring pre-flight checks, Cordell maneuvered the craft around and taxied it out of the hangar.

Kam's comlink bleeped and he groggily answered it.

"Kam?" Came Tahiri's voice. "I can't get through to Lowbacca, so I'll tell you: Don't let Cordell get off planet, at any cost!"

"Roger!" Kam replied and shut off the comlink.

He slowly rose and set himself. _Now that Cordell is in a ship, there is only one way to stop him._ Kam thought as he lifted his biotic right arm and aimed at the exiting A-Wing.

His robotic fingers and thumb bent completely back and retracted. Kam's wrist opened and a tube several inches in length slide out and locked into place. He held his transformed arm steady with his flesh-and-blood arm as he locked onto the now fleeing A-Wing. Kam's "Kannon" made a whining sound as it charged and then fired.

Din Holnt and Zeek Solo zoomed away from the spaceport in a well-used speeder they had rented.

"Tell me again why you had to haggle with the owner for about ten minutes about a price, when we could have easily afforded the original offer." Zeek was saying.

Din almost looked comical sitting in the passenger's seat with his long legs bent into the most comfortable position the small space would allow. "For the fun of it." Din shifted in his seat again. "And I should have taken him lower for lack of leg room."

Zeek stifled a chuckle as Din shifted yet again.

They were out on the open plains of Duro now; heading toward the closest town.

"Master Holnt?"

"Zeek, I told you; it's Din, okay?"

"Sorry, Din. I was just wondering. You didn't happen to see any communication towers in that town back there did you? You know, the short-ranged kind used for local transmissions."

Din rubbed his narrow chin. "No, I didn't."

"So how do they keep in contact with the other settlements?"

"Maybe someone goes and checks on them periodically. It is possible that each settlement is self-substantial. What with how fertile the ground has become since the Vong …"

Zeek had been watching Din when he stopped mid-sentence. "What is it?"

Din pointed in the direction of the town they were headed to. "I just got a really bad feeling about where we're going."

"Do you want me to change course?"

"No! We were sent here to protect these people. We can't run away from what we're looking for."

"Sorry, Master."

Din sighed. "One: I told you not to call me 'Master'. Two: if we get into a situation where we must fight to protect others, whether directly or indirectly, I want you to promise me that you will make all your decisions based on their well-being; not your own and not mine."

"Yes, sir."

Din shook his head. "Oh, well. That's a little better."


	7. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

The specially designed implosion shot hit the right ion engine, completely destroying it. The left engine still burned brightly though, causing the A-Wing to begin a slow spiral downward. When it hit, it dug a deep trench in the dirt about a mile away.

Kam retracted and concealed his weapon and began to make his way toward the downed ship. He stopped after he had barely walked ten feet. Kam turned at a sound behind him. He did not know her name, but Kam recognized the Bothan girl that had been assigned to stand watch over Cordell. She was running as fast as she could toward the hangar where the A-Wing had been. The Bothan dove behind a stack of crates, and Kam could hear the impact from her blow.

Nayanll had not been fooled by the charade. Cordell had used the Force to pilot the A-Wing in a way that made it seem as though he was actually flying it. He had anticipated something going wrong, and thus attempted to create a distraction while he escaped in another ship. What Cordell had not expected, was Nayanll's sudden appearance, and he was now stumbling backward from the punch she had just delivered to his jaw.

Cordell righted himself as Nayanll ignited her pink lightsaber and brought it down on him. His acid-yellow blade was up in the blink of an eye to deflect the Bothan girl's attack. Nayanll knew there was no way she was going to be able to beat him with strength alone. She began to dash and dodge in every direction, making use of her great speed; but instead of trying to keep up with her, Cordell merely stood in the same spot facing the same direction, not even turning his head.

Nayanll was not waiting any longer. She lunged at him and never even saw it coming.

Cordell, faster than the naked eye could ever perceive, executed a perfect spinning kick, connecting solidly with Nayanll's midsection. She hit the ground and rolled backward, her lightsaber flying from her grasp.

He sensed it coming, so he protected himself with a Force bubble. The implosion shot ricocheted off of it and into a nearby wall.

Kam stood in disbelief, as Cordell turned, unscathed, to face him. Before Kam could even blink, Cordell was standing next to him. With one quick motion, Cordell sliced off the barrel of Kam's weapon with his lightsaber. Kam stumbled away from him in fear, but Cordell no longer considered Kam a threat.

Cordell strode past the stunned and gasping Nayanll, turning off his lightsaber as he did. He did not give the unconscious Lowbacca or Krison Glynt a second glance. He merely made his way to a hangar farther down the way, where he actually climbed into the cockpit of another A-Wing just as he had originally planned, despite a few … complications.

As Cordell pulled away from the spaceport, he noted the fact that Tahiri had finally arrived. He could feel her frustration; and, oddly enough, her worry.

He piloted his way past the planetary defense platforms and punched in a short hyperspace jump into his computer. Cordell was being drawn to a particular planet. He did not know why, but decided not to question the feeling. Cordell sighed with a feeling of satisfaction as the A-Wing made the jump into hyperspace.

Rubble. That was what most of the small settlement had been reduced to. Zeek had piloted their speeder into the middle of the ghost town and set it down. There could not have been much here to begin with, but now there was nothing.

Sadness filled the two Jedi as they surveyed the damage. They sensed no life in the destruction. They decided to bury any bodies not already buried by collapsed buildings and other structures. But after searching the entire settlement, they found nothing. It was as if the inhabitants had simply vanished.

However, the settlement was not completely empty. In one alleyway, Zeek had discovered the rotting corpse of one of the hideous creatures they were supposed to be hunting. The dead vort was horribly mutilated, and because the smell was so unbearable, there was only a rudimentary examination.

Aside from the decaying portions of the creature's body, there were several evident battle wounds that were unmistakably familiar.

"Are those what I think they are?" Zeek asked Din as he held his nose to try and dampen the stench.

Din's slender hand covered his entire face below his eyes, so his response was muffled when he nodded and said, "Lightsaber wounds."

Tay Norat'k was exhausted. She still could not believe how much had happened within the last several hours. Besides her getting three new patients at the same time (all of which would make a full recovery), being told that Kam and Tahiri had taken off in the _Twilight Trekker_ to go see Master Luke about Cordell, and hearing of Todan's sacrifice, was too much for her.

She could not believe someone had died at Cordell's hands; or at least that's what everyone says. Tay had heard from Nayanll, while she treated her for three broken ribs, that Todan had jumped in front of her to take the full attack but was unable to repel it. The Bothan girl had felt Todan's life slipping from him like water through a sieve. Even as she ran to the spaceport, Nayanll knew that there was no way he would recover. And yet … no body had been found. The spot where Nayanll had left him was vacant. It was possible that he had dissolved directly into the Force, but he was so inexperienced, that it did not seem likely. And if that were true, then what did happen to him?

Tay shook her head. She was going to give herself a migraine if she kept dwelling on it. Tay rose to go check on Krison Glynt. He would be the first to leave, with only minor bumps and bruises. Tay sighed when she thought of Lowbacca. "He's going to be spending quite a few weeks in that bacta tank."

The rented speeder sped away from the deserted village, aimed at the next settlement.

Zeek and Din were both quiet as they crossed the desolate wasteland that was most of Duro. Each lost in his own thoughts. Why would there be a Jedi here doing the very thing they had been sent here to do? They had not been notified. Din turned to Zeek who was focused on their destination. "We should report this as soon as we return to the ship."

Zeek nodded. _I'd like to know who our vort hunter is._

Cordell's confiscated A-Wing took up an orbit over his destination planet. He knew this was where he was being pulled to, but why? He picked up a familiar Force sense and thought, _No, that can't be it. It's too obvious._ He shrugged to himself. _I guess I'll just have to go down and see._

Cordell fired the A-Wing's thrusters and angled the nose toward the desolate, wasteland planet below him. _What else could be down there, I have no idea._


	8. Chapter 6

Part 2:

Search

**Chapter 6**

Zeek Solo and Din Holnt were becoming discouraged. They were now leaving the third settlement, having found it exactly like the first two, except for one difference. This town contained the corpses of two vorts instead of only one. They decided to check one more town before heading back to the ship to report their findings … or lack of.

But as they approached the fourth settlement, the two Jedi had a feeling that things were about to get interesting. Where the next town should have been, they found themselves looking a wall that rose dozens of meters into the air. Mounted laser cannons along the wall turned to bear on them as their speeder came to a stop just outside the main gate.

A small orb appeared from out of a shaft on the wall. It hovered over to the stunned Jedi. It flashed and a hologram appeared. The picture contained a lot of static, but the words came through loud and clear. "State your names and reason for coming here."

Din cleared his throat. "My name is Din Holnt, Jedi Knight, this is my Padawan, Zeek Solo; and we were just --."

"JEDI!" The hologram shrieked. "Say no more!"

Before Din could inquire, the gate leading into the city rose, inviting them in.

"Come in! Come in! I am anxious to meet you!" The hologram said before it clicked off and the orb hovered away.

Zeek turned to Din. "I sense no deception."

"Nor do I." Din replied. "It's just not often that Jedi are welcomed so openly."

"Let's find out why." Zeek said as he fired up the speeder and drove inside.

The damage was almost completely repaired. The debris had been swept from the hallway, the back wall had been replaced, and now the turbolifts were being reinstalled.

Salah sighed as she walked slowly down the long hallway. Jyo had become reserved and distant upon hearing what his brother had done; and with Todan disappearing, Zeek going off on a mission, Tay busy tending to her patients, and Denz missing; she felt very alone. Salah felt something growing inside of her. An emotion. Contempt. Disgust. Anger! She was angry, very angry with Cordell. Except for Zeek going off on a mission, Cordell was responsible for everyone else's distance from her, whether physically or emotionally.

Salah hated to be alone. It reminded her too much of her past. Her father had been killed in a space battle against the Yuuzhan Vong when she was very young. Then, a year later, the Vong invaded her home planet of Bespin. Wanting the Tibana gas for their own purposes, the Vong released a deadly neurotoxin on every cloud city.

Salah remembered seeing the deadly fumes coming toward her as she clung tightly to her mother. The next thing she could remember was waking up to find her mother dead beside her. The only conclusion Salah had ever come to, was that her mother had created a Force bubble around Salah and willed it to remain even after her passing. Of course, she did not know that then. Salah had had no idea that her mother had possessed Force abilities.

For days Salah wandered aimlessly around the city. Her mind soon became numb to the dead bodies that littered the streets, buildings, and vehicles. She had eventually collapsed from exhaustion and starvation, for the neurotoxin had poisoned all the food in the entire city. Salah had been fortunate to find some pure water, though. Otherwise she might not have lasted long enough.

One day, as she drank from the cool spring she had discovered, Salah thought she had heard a sound overhead. She ran out to where she could get a look and saw three fighter-size ships streak across the sky. At first she was frightened, then she realized that these were not Vong. Salah waved her arms and jumped up and down as the pilots made another pass. One had apparently seen her and turned around and came toward her.

The ship set down in the clearing where Salah stood. The hatch popped and a man jumped out. His blue eyes were kind and inviting. She began to cry, and he asked her how she had survived. Salah started to tell the man what she knew, but found that she could not speak. Her voice had disappeared. Enduring such complete silence for days on end had left her mute … at least temporarily.

Right now Salah felt like yelling at someone … anyone! She took a deep breath to calm herself. Salah decided that she would play the holographic message left by Denz and make faces at it to cheer her up. But when she reached his door, she remembered that Todan had torn apart the control console. Wires hung out everywhere. Salah saw two that looked like Todan had been about to connect them. Just for the fun of it, though, she touched the ends of the two wires together. They sparked and Denz's door seemed to shudder. Salah touched them together again and held it.

Denz's door slid wide open.

Salah looked quickly up and down the hall. Other than the droids working on the turbolifts, it was empty. She cautiously poked her head inside Denz's room. Salah sensed no traps so she walked inside. The room was mostly empty, just like all the rooms had been when the students first moved in. Except for his desk, which was littered with papers and schematics, the room was eerily neat and tidy.

As she approached the desk and began to leaf through the clutter, she heard a noise. When Salah looked up, she saw a small orb rise from the desk and begin to spin. Thinking it was one of the practice orbs that fired low power laser bolts; she had her lightsaber out in a second. But instead of attacking her, an image appeared above the orb. It was full of static at first, but soon cleared enough for her to make out the face of the missing Jedi Student.

"Greetings." The hologram said. "I suppose it was only a matter of time before someone was able to crack the security on my door."

Salah sighed with relief as she put her lightsaber away. Clearly this was just another recorded transmission made by Denz before he went missing.

"If you think that this is just another recorded message, I'm afraid you're mistaken. This is a live transmission from a location that I'm not going to reveal to you … yet."

Salah stumbled backward at this. She sat down on his bed to steady herself.

Before she could respond, the hologram continued. "Just so you know, I can't hear or see you, so you'll just have to hear me out. Obviously I'm alive and well. Also, I sensed what happened there on Jedron a day or so ago, and I fear Cordell may know where I am and is coming for me.

"I think he may be being drawn to me, and I to him. But I am not yet ready to face him. I have yet to rid myself completely of dark feelings I have toward him. Thus, I will be fleeing my sanctuary planet for another safe haven.

"But I need Cordell to be slowed down and distracted in order for me to escape and effectively hide myself from him again. For this reason, I need you, whoever you are, to contact another familiar presence I sensed on this planet. Warn him of Cordell and tell him to do anything in his power to stop him. I don't think he will be able to defeat Cordell, but it will at least divert his attention.

"Finally, I would just like to say that I miss all my friends there on Jedron and the day will come when I will return there after defeating Cordell to see you all again. May the Force be with you. End transmission from Duro."

Salah still sat on Denz's bed gaping as the hologram disappeared and the orb fell to the desk with a _clunk._ After about a moment, she jumped up and dashed out into the hallway. It was still empty except for the droids. Salah hurried toward them. At that end of the hallway was Tahiri's room. _If anyone could get in contact with Zeek and Din immediately, it would be the one that sent them on the mission in the first place._ Salah thought to herself.

Salah knew the door would be locked so she did not waste time with the control panel. Her lightsaber made quick work of the door, slicing a hole in it in one circular swipe. Salah stepped through the opening and activated the lights. She then searched through the holophone's memory and found the private line to the Naboo cruiser Zeek and Din had taken. But when she tried to contact them, no one answered. She left a message, explaining everything and warning Zeek about Cordell.

Salah felt discouraged as she stepped back through the hole she had created. How would she know if Zeek got the message in time? Suddenly she remembered! Jyo! One time he had explained to Salah, at her inquiry, that the device he always wore on his wrist was a special comlink invented by Denz that could communicate with the other three he had made from anywhere in the galaxy.

"But," he had added sadly, "Denz must have deactivated his. 'Cause I don't even get static when I try to contact it."

But Zeek had one too! And he would have no reason to turn his off. _So, all I need to do is find Jyo and get him to contact Zeek and deliver the message!_ Salah hurried away to find Jyo. _But where could he be?_

Denz turned away from the holoprojector and looked sadly at his bare wrist. _If only I hadn't had to destroy my combomb. Then I could have just contacted Zeek myself._ He shook his head, _No need to dwell on such things. What's done is done._

A young man in a blue uniform entered the room. "You're ship is ready, Master Dax."

"Thank you, Rolind." Denz said as he made his way to the door.

As he passed the young man, he said, "Master Dax … must you leave?"

Denz sighed and sent a thought through Rolind's mind.

"You must go," Rolind said. "I understand. We will be safe and continue to grow in number and strength."

Denz smiled at his good friend and aide that did not even know his real name. He turned to go. _I have to be ready to leave at a moment's notice._

Din and Zeek had been, to say the least, dumbfounded to find inside the tall walls a massive, thriving city! Circular in shape, it had to be several thousand meters in diameter – at least.

Din had been so engrossed with Yibin (the man from the hologram) as he gave him and Zeek a tour of what was called "Sand Grain City" that he almost did not hear his comlink go off. It was linked directly to the ship to alert him of any incoming transmission. _It has to be from Tahiri._ He thought to himself. Din interrupted Yibin and pulled Zeek aside. "We've got a message waiting for us back at the ship, and as much as I want to find out about this place, it could be important."

Zeek nodded. "No problem. If I can get a transport, I'll take the speeder back to the rental place and just pilot the ship back here."

"Alright." Din turned back to Yibin and asked him if it would be all right to make the transition.

Their guide nodded his head enthusiastically. "Yes, yes, of course! We shall just appropriate another speeder when we get to the spaceport."

Fifteen minutes later, Zeek and their rented speeder were loaded up in an old freighter. After the ship had taken off, Din and Yibin, in another speeder, continued the tour of the city. Din listened as the proud man told of all the hard work and heart that became what they saw before them.

When Yibin stopped speaking for a moment, Din worked in a question or two. "Who organized all the manpower it must have taken to build … this!" Din asked gesturing at their surroundings.

Yibin seemed to smile even bigger (if that was possible). "He pretty much appeared out of nowhere. He cleared out about eight to twelve of our tiny little villages and brought us all to this spot, where he supplied us with the necessary materials and tools."

He knew Yibin had more to say, but Din interrupted again with a quick question. "Does this 'he' have a name?"

Yibin chuckled in embarrassment. "Oh, yes! The only name he ever gave anyone was 'Dax'. Of course, if you had any respect for him, you would call him 'Master Dax', but …"

"Wait!" Din stopped him again. "'Master?'"

"Why, yes. And we are ever so grateful to Master Skywalker for sending him to us …"

"This Dax said he was sent by Master Skywalker?"

"Well, it was only assumed that that was who sent him. And so young, too …"

"Yibin!"

The chatty guide stopped and looked questioningly at Din.

"I have never heard of any 'Master Dax'; I know for a fact that Master Skywalker did not send anyone to Duro except for me and my apprentice; and where can I find this mystery Jedi?"


	9. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Salah had luckily found Jyo just outside the Jome, sitting on the ground, leaning against it. She had explained everything that had just happened, and that he needed to contact Zeek immediately.

Without any hesitation or questioning anything Salah had just said, Jyo got Zeek on his combomb and re-relayed the message. He found that Zeek was en route to the Naboo Cruiser as they spoke and would be extra alert for any signs or hints of Cordell.

"I wish I could be there to help you." Jyo said into his combomb. "Be careful and may the Force be with you."

_Thanks Jyo._ Zeek responded_. Zeek out._

"I just don't understand." Yibin walked quickly through their communications building, followed closely by Din Holnt. "He's done nothing but help us."

"I'm not saying this Dax person has any evil intentions in mind." Din responded. "But he is still unauthorized … and unknown for that matter."

"Oh dear, oh dear." Yibin rubbed his hands together nervously.

They entered a room filled with electronic equipment that Din guessed to be the control room. Yibin sat down at one console and flipped a few switches. He then said into the speaker, "Connect me to Particle City immediately, private line."

_Yes, sir._

The line stayed open for minutes that seemed like hours. Finally there was a response.

_I'm sorry, sir. But the party you are trying to reach doesn't appear to be answering._

"What do you mean? Where is Master Dax?"

_Yibin? Is that you?_

"Yes, Rolind. But there's no time for pleasantries now. I need to speak with Master Dax immediately! It's urgent!"

_Sorry, Yibin. But Master Dax is already aboard his ship._

"What?"

_Didn't you hear? He announced his departure earlier today._

"The news didn't make it to me, Rolind."

_Sorry again, Yibin. But he's already been cleared for immediate take-off. He just hasn't left yet. It's like he's waiting for something._

Din reached over Yibin with his long arms and broke the connection.

"What'd you do that for?" Yibin protested.

"There's obviously no time to talk, especially when it won't do any good. Now, I need a ship and directions to Particle City."

_There!_ Zeek exclaimed to himself. For the past several minutes, as the ship he had gotten a ride on neared the spaceport where he and Din had landed, Zeek had been searching vigilantly for Cordell's presence. Finally, he had broken through his friend's dark camouflage.

"Sir, if you could land about a mile or so outside the spaceport, I'd like to take the speeder the rest of the way in."

The pilot of the freighter nodded, a little unsure.

"Let me know when we are landing." Zeek said as he left the cockpit and moved toward the hold where the speeder was parked. He got inside and closed his eyes, beginning a calming exercise. He had to prepare for the fight ahead. It was going to take all of his strength just to survive.

Din shot over miles of Duro wasteland in the ship he had appropriated from Sand Grain City. He pushed the speedy little ship's capabilities to the max._ I have to get to Particle City before Dax gets away and disappears. He's got a lot to answer for, and I've got a lot of questions._

Zeek was jolted out of his calming exercise when the freighter set down outside the settlement with a spaceport. The hold door opened like a giant mouth, and Zeek fired up the speeder's engines and zoomed out of the freighter's belly. As he passed the front of the ship, Zeek sent a suggestion to the pilot that he should head back to Sand Grain City; that his work was done.

To his relief, the pilot took the bait and soon was just a speck in the distance. Zeek smiled to himself. _Now there's no reason for me to hold back. It's just Cordell and me this time._

Zeek had sensed long before he had arrived, that the spaceport was now like so many other settlements on Duro … empty. _Thank you, Denz. He must have evacuated it for just this purpose._

Cordell leapt from the A-Wing to the ground. He could have sworn that Denz was here. But now he knew that this town was completely empty. Except for, he noticed, the Naboo Cruiser still sitting in the spaceport. Then he felt it; another familiar presence. _Zeek._

Zeek saw him. He was just standing there in the middle of town. _Like he's waiting for me._ Zeek throttled up the speeder, and as he entered the outskirts he set it on autopilot. He then leaped out of the speeder, sending it careening straight for Cordell.

Cordell chuckled to himself and did not move. When the speeder was within a few feet from Cordell, he whipped his lightsaber out and activated the acid-yellow blade. He held it vertically in front of him, and it sliced through the old, beat up speeder like a knife through butter. The two halves flew off in opposite directions: one crashing into a building, and one exploding in mid-flight.

Cordell deactivated his lightsaber and slid it back into his shoulder holster. All the time this was happening, Zeek had been walking steadily toward him. Cordell just stood there, letting Zeek come to him.

When Zeek came within five feet of Cordell, he stopped. The two friends merely looked at each other for several long moments. Finally, Zeek broke the silence.

"Stop this, Cordell!"

"Stop what, Zeek?"

"Don't give me that! I know all about what happened back on Jedron. How you seriously injured your friends and possibly killed one!"

"And would you like to know how I did it, Zeek?"

"What!"

"I never would have been able to do all those things in my previous state."

"You mean when you didn't go around attacking people for no reason?"

Cordell scowled at the retort. "I _mean_ when I couldn't do THIS!" He gestured at the half of the speeder embedded in a building. It tore up the building as it rose and shot into the sky. The building collapsed, and the speeder landed somewhere behind Zeek.

"You …"

"Yes! I can do all the things you can do and more." Cordell laughed out loud. "And it was so easy, too! All I had to do was give in to the feelings of hate and contempt I had buried within me for so long."

Zeek's expression saddened at this. "Contempt for whom?"

Cordell stopped laughing and looked piercingly at Zeek. "Are you blind, man! You with your Force abilities; Jyo with his intelligence and great knowledge of Jedi history; and … DENZ." He said Zeek's brother's name with such passion, that it seemed like the name itself burned Cordell's lips.

"What did my brother ever do to you?"

"Oh, it's not what he's done to me. It's what he's done for me!"

"O.K., you lost me."

Cordell growled with frustration, like just thinking about it fueled his anger. "Every time I struggled, every time I made a mistake, every time I failed … DENZ WAS THERE TO HELP ME, CORRECT ME, AND ENCOURAGE ME! And I loathe him for that.

"He made me feel inferior! WELL, NO MORE! I _WILL_ DEFEAT HIM! I _WILL _PROVE THAT I AM SUPERIOR! Even if I have to go through everyone in the entire universe to do so."

Zeek knew that the conversation was over. He could see in Cordell's eyes that he meant every word with all of his being. Zeek knew that Cordell's wishes were completely and utterly selfish; but there would be no explaining that to him.

"Prepare yourself, Zeek." Then he added, "Brother of _Denz_."

_There! Cordell's attention is turned elsewhere. I must go quickly and quietly, but I swear that one day, things will be right between us again, Cordell. It's either that or I'll have to destroy you._

Din saw it. A Jedi Starfighter departing from Particle City. _Hey! There's something you don't see every day. I'd bet anything that's the mystery Jedi's ship … wait a minute!_ Din suddenly remembered something Master Skywalker had told him.

"The boy you'll be taking on as an apprentice has a brother that went missing quite recently." Luke had said. "We're almost positive he made his disappearance in a Jedi Starfighter. But despite the rarity of such ships, we have yet to get any reports on it."

_Denz? Dax? The same person? It has to be! But how…?_ Din shook his head to help him focus. He would worry about that later. Right now, he needed to focus completely on catching that Jedi Starfighter.

Din tried hailing the ship via radio but got no response. And unfortunately the Jedi Starfighter was a lot faster that the ship he had borrowed. Thus, it was able to make it to space relatively quick.

Din hoped to catch him before he was able to plot a hyperspace course, but his hopes sank when the Jedi Starfighter disappeared into the distance in a split second.

_This guy planned ahead! Even to the point of pre-programming a hyperspace jump into his navicomputer._ Din struck the console with his fist and noticed the comlink on his wrist. It was still flashing yellow, indicating that the message that had been transmitted earlier still had not been accessed.

_Zeek had to have gotten to the ship by now! Something must have gone wrong._ Din immediately turned his ship around and set a course for the spaceport where they had landed.

Cordell was reaching for his lightsaber, when Zeek got an idea. Perhaps he could make this a little less lethal, while still distracting him. "Hey, Cordell! You said you wanted to prove yourself, right? Well then, how about we do this without lightsabers?"

"A battle based on Force knowledge and ability?" Cordell smiled as he returned his hand to his side. "You're on!"

Zeek tossed his outer cloak to the side and readied himself. Before the cloak even hit the ground, Cordell's face was only inches from his. Zeek had not even sensed him moving and was too surprised to react quick enough.

Cordell grabbed Zeek by the collar and threw him like a baseball, over his head. Zeek righted himself in the air and landed on his feet, sliding a couple yards backward in the dirt.

This time he knew Cordell was coming. He planted himself and took a step forward, bringing his arm up perpendicular to his body just in time to catch Cordell across neck. Zeek's clothesline took Cordell's feet out from under him and dropped him to the ground.

Zeek did not waste any time as he spun quickly around to gain momentum then kicked Cordell squarely in the side, punting him into a building several feet away.

Cordell crashed through the outer wall of the poorly constructed building, cushioning the impact with the Force. He leapt out from the darkness of the building and aimed a kick at Zeek's head.

Zeek's hands came up and grabbed Cordell's foot. He tossed Cordell into the air then leapt after him. Zeek used his upward momentum to grab Cordell's arm, swing him 360 degrees in mid air, and slingshot him back toward the ground.

Cordell struck the ground hard enough to leave an imprint, but got up to face Zeek only a moment later. His face was scratched and dirty, and his shirt was torn, but still he looked like he only just started.

"I see you were holding back last time we fought." Cordell said.

Zeek nodded. "I can tell that you've improved as well. You're reactions are quicker and more instinctive."

"Not as easy as you thought it would be is it?"

"The dark side is fueling you. Fighting the dark side had never been easy for Jedi."

"Enough talk!"

_It's working! Cordell has completely forgotten about pursuing Denz._ Zeek hoped he had gotten away all right. _May the Force be with you, brother._


	10. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Cordell jumped effortlessly on top of a building, and Zeek followed. Cordell pushed off and landed on another structure, turning to face his opponent as he did.

Zeek saw Cordell turn and changed his jump into an attack. He flipped and aimed a kick at Cordell. He sidestepped the kick, but Zeek countered by pushing off of the roof as he landed, tackling Cordell in the back. The two fell over the side of the five-story building. Cordell grabbed Zeek and positioned him beneath him. Cordell then pushed off of Zeek's stomach; propelling himself onto the roof of another, lower building.

Zeek's fall was sped up with this move, and he hit the bottom of the alleyway hard. Luckily, there was garbage piled a couple of inches thick that softened the blow.

Zeek pulled himself up onto his hands and knees only to have Cordell's foot come crashing down on his back, driving him flat into the garbage again. Cordell stepped off of Zeek's back and picked him up by the neck. Cordell began to squeeze, and Zeek thought that it was all over. But Cordell seemed to change his mind, and instead punched Zeek hard in the gut with his free hand. Zeek wheezed as all the air was knocked out of him. Then, still holding him by the neck, Cordell picked up one foot and kicked Zeek squarely in the chest, letting go of his neck as he connected.

Zeek flew out of the alleyway and into the main street. He struck the ground, rolled and tumbled for a moment, then lay still. Cordell walked slowly and deliberately out of the alleyway after Zeek. As he drew closer to his opponent, Cordell's hands began to glow and spark with power. He had clearly beaten Zeek, and would now finish what he had started on Myrkr. _Zeek must die!_

Cordell stood over Zeek's body and remembered when Denz's body had looked just like this. Cordell thought he had killed him with that slash from his right hip to the left of his neck. He thought Denz would be out of his life, forever. _But then I discover that he survived and IS STRONGER SOMEHOW! _The anger that emanated from Cordell's body caused a nearby building to collapse. He looked down at Zeek again and felt strangely calmed to know that the end was near for the brother of Denz.

Cordell reached for Zeek's neck, his hands pulsating with electricity. Cordell suddenly froze, and then jumped quickly backward. A piece of the speeder Cordell had thrown earlier landed right where Cordell's hands had been.

Cordell looked quickly around, thinking that someone else was out there and had thrown it; but instead what he saw made him freeze. Everywhere he looked there was a piece of rubble or debris hovering in mid air. Cordell looked back at the piece of speeder that blocked his view of Zeek. It rose from the ground and joined the rest of the debris.

Zeek had pulled himself up and was sitting cross-legged on the ground, his hands in his lap. Dirt had mixed with the blood from cuts on his face. His breaths came in deep wheezing gasps, and Zeek knew something had been damaged internally. But through all of his pain, he smiled.

"How did you gather so much debris without me noticing, and keep your conscious state a secret from me?" Cordell demanded.

Still Zeek smiled. "I guess you were just preoccupied."

Arrgh! He's right! I was so focused on my feelings of revenge that I didn't see this coming!

Cordell roared in frustration as he rushed Zeek.

He did not even make it two full steps before a large piece of duracrete struck him full force in the side, knocking him to the ground and causing him to slide several feet away. Cordell flipped out of the slide, and just as he set his feet on the ground, another piece of duracrete hit him in the back of his ankles. As soon as his back slammed into the ground, Cordell rolled to the side just as a piece of speeder landed flat where he had just been.

There was a pause in the barrage, allowing Cordell enough time to get up. He turned and gave Zeek a deadly glare. Cordell held his right arm (the one that had been hit with duracrete) as he began to walk deliberately toward Zeek.

Several chunks of duracrete flew at Cordell from all directions. Cordell did not even flinch, and the debris struck the Force bubble he had erected.

Zeek raised his eyebrows in surprise as he directed more chunks of duracrete at Cordell. This time they struck with such force that they shattered into smaller pieces. Zeek was growing desperate as he pitched what was left of the speeder at Cordell. It hit and exploded creating a huge fireball.

But through all this, Cordell kept coming. The flames from the explosion licked at the Force bubble, hungrily wanting to scorch Cordell's flesh. Cordell's eyes, however, burned more intensely then the fire as they bore into Zeek's.

Zeek had only one idea left. As he created a hurricane of rock and rubble around Cordell, he also focused on the ground beneath his feet. The dust and dirt shifted and a small fissure formed just as Cordell took another step, causing him to lose his balance … and his concentration.

The Force bubble dropped, and Zeek knew it. He immediately began to pummel Cordell with debris.

Cordell got hit first, right in the jaw, then in the gut, causing him to cough blood. He continued to be hit from all sides, making it impossible for him to concentrate enough to create another Force bubble. He was soon on his knees, and his right arm was completely useless. _NO! I can't die now! I must live so that I can get my revenge on Denz! I … MUST … LIVE!_

Zeek never saw it coming. The bolt of lightning hit him square in the chest and spread throughout his entire body. He screamed in pain as it attacked every single nerve. Then his whole body went numb, and he collapsed to the ground. Zeek faded into unconsciousness; the last thing he saw was Cordell, slowly pulling himself across the ground toward Zeek, an intense anger in his eyes.

Cordell's look of anger turned to one of realization when he looked up and saw every single piece of rubble that Zeek had been levitating, waver then plummet to the ground. Cordell rolled and dodged as chunk after chunk slammed into the ground. When the storm of stone was over and the dust had settled, Cordell slowly pulled himself to his feet. To his amazement, none of the debris had landed on Zeek. He still lay in the same spot with rubble all around him. Cordell frowned and removed his lightsaber from its holster. He flicked on the acid-yellow blade and started toward Zeek.

Pan knew that this time, Zeek was really out. _No! He can't kill Zeek! Moving the rubble will have been pointless if Cordell finishes him off. Denz will feel it and will surely lose control. It will take far too long to find another two subjects to answer the Question! Don't kill him, Cordell!_

Cordell stood over Zeek, his lightsaber raised. The darkened Jedi bent down and removed Zeek's lightsaber from its clip on his back. Cordell tossed it into the air and swung at it horizontally, cutting it into two equal halves. He then deactivated his lightsaber and picked up Zeek, slinging him over his shoulder.

Cordell carried his beaten opponent over to the Naboo Cruiser and tossed him into the dirt beneath the ship's bow. Beside Zeek, Cordell dropped his severed lightsaber.

"You will be my message, Zeek." Cordell said to no one in particular.

_Amazing! _ Pan thought. _He's using Zeek as a message to tell everyone that by not killing him, he controls who lives and who dies. And the broken lightsaber symbolizes that the Jedi are no longer a threat to him. Most unexpected!_

As he climbed into his A-Wing's cockpit, Cordell looked back at Zeek. One part of him wanted desperately to kill him for interfering with his pursuit of Denz; the other part felt ashamed of what he had done. Cordell knew that Zeek had looked up to him as a role model for most of his life.

"Some role model." He had told himself time and again. "A short-tempered, rough mannered Jedi Student with almost no regard for authority."

Cordell sighed as he sealed the cockpit hatch. _At least he didn't end up like me._


	11. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

The shuttle set down in the VIP berth at the Jedron spaceport. Lowbacca, M-TD, Nayanll Ohm, Jyo, and Salah stood waiting as the shuttle's engines shut down, and personnel secured the ship.

The ship's port side door opened, and Luke Skywalker, Tahiri Veila, and Ben Skywalker stepped out. Each wore the traditional brown robes of a Jedi. Even Tahiri, who was known for always having bare feet, had a pair of boots on. That meant something was up.

"Master Skywalkers! How good to see both of you again!" M-TD greeted.

Luke nodded to the droid and directed his question towards Lowbacca. "How are your wounds healing?"

Lowbacca gently rubbed the bandages that encased his entire midriff. The Wookie growled softly.

Luke smiled and said. "Glad to hear it."

Salah could not contain herself any longer. "Master Skywalker! What is this all about? Why did you bring us all together?"

Luke's expression saddened slightly. "Let's head to Tahiri's quarters. We will discuss matters there."

Din Holnt was more concerned about Zeek than the A-Wing that was taking off from the spaceport. He landed the borrowed shuttle and rushed over to the Naboo Cruiser that had been given to Zeek and him for their mission.

He found Zeek leaning against one of the landing struts, unconscious; his lightsaber severed at his side. As Din tried to evaluate exactly what was wrong with Zeek, he heard a sound and realized that the A-Wing had turned around and was coming back toward the spaceport.

It stopped just outside the town (or what was left of it), its nose pointing at them. Din saw it, but there was no way he would be able to react fast enough to avoid it. A hatch had opened on each side of the A-Wing, and from each a missile was launched.

The twin rockets sailed right of the Naboo Cruiser and struck the old freighter that Din had flown here. The missiles hit almost simultaneously, shining brightly as they exploded, engulfing the ship in a ball of flame.

Din looked at the A-Wing, surprised that he was still alive. But even as he thought this, the small fighter's nose turned to the left slightly and paused, as if saying: "I don't want to kill you, I just want to destroy your means of transportation."

Din got the message but did not move. He wondered how far he could push this guy. _Will he give up and leave? Will he stay there and wait if I don't move? Will he blow us up if I don't?_

As these questions ran through his mind, however, the A-Wing suddenly turned its focus away from them and began to fire its lasers into the distance. Soon after, a Jedi Starfighter streaked past, and the A-Wing followed.

Cordell laughed out loud as he stuck to the Jedi Starfighter's tail, firing away with his lasers. _Denz came back! I haven't lost him after all! _He laughed again as he launched two missiles at the fleeing craft. As soon as he launched them, however, a strange feeling came over him. When he looked, he saw the missiles hanging almost motionless in mid air. The Jedi Starfighter was nowhere in sight. Then he realized it. _He used the time-slowing capabilities of the Jedi Starfighter! _A glance at his radar screen told him that Denz was now behind him, but there was nothing he could do. His ship rocked with the hit dealt by the Jedi Starfighter's laser canons. Then time started moving normally again. The two missiles Cordell had launched spiraled away and exploded into the wasteland ground below, and he himself did the same.

The Jedi Starfighter then proceeded to exit the planet's atmosphere and shoot into hyperspace.

Din carried Zeek inside the Naboo Cruiser after watching the A-Wing plummet to the ground and seeing smoke begin to rise from the spot. He secured Zeek in one of the medical bays and fired up the engines. _I have to make it back to Sand Grain City and get Zeek medical care. Then I better contact Tahiri and let her know what's going on._

Luke and the others sat around a large table in Tahiri's quarters. In the center of the table sat a holoprojector. Luke pressed a button on the control panel in front of his seat. The holoprojector flashed to life, and the lights went off. An image of Cordell appeared above the projector, its light casting an eerie glow over the entire room.

"This is why we're here." Luke began. "Many years ago, on one of my visits to the Maw Installation, I met this young Jedi for the first time. Even then I sensed something about this boy that was different from the other students there. Out of mere curiosity, I probed his mind. What I found … troubled me deeply."

Luke paused and pressed another button on the control panel. Denz's image appeared next to Cordell's.

Luke continued. "This young boy of eight or so years was harboring a great deal of anger and resentment toward his older cousin, Denz."

A chair scraped loudly as someone stood. Everyone turned and saw Jyo shaking violently with a faraway look in the eye illuminated by the hologram. Before anyone could inquire, however, he fell to his knees, clutching his head and screamed at the top of his lungs.

When he stopped, Jyo doubled over gasping for air. Salah helped him to his feet and sent waves of calm through him. Jyo breathed his thanks as she lowered him into his seat then returned to hers.

No one spoke. They all waited for Jyo to fully regain his composure. Jyo cleared his throat. "It's Cordell."

"Is he…?" Tahiri started to ask.

"No." Jyo shook his head. "I can still sense him. But he did just experience a tremendous amount of pain."

Jyo exhaled heavily, and looked at Salah knowingly. He had not told anyone about the communication from Denz and his contacting Zeek. He hoped Salah took his silence to mean that it was best not to bring it up.

Before Luke could continue, however, an alarm went off in Tahiri's room. It came from the personal holophone that was connected directly to the Naboo Cruiser Din and Zeek were using.

The room's lights came back on, and everyone waited as Tahiri went to answer it. The distressed face of Din Holnt appeared and spoke to Tahiri in a muted tone. The call ended and Tahiri returned to the table and said, "To make a long story short: Cordell is crashed on Duro, Zeek is greatly injured and could really use a healer, and Denz was there."

"Was?" Salah asked.

"Din said he disappeared into hyperspace. He couldn't track him."

Luke slammed his palms flat down on the table and stood. "Well, that cuts what I had to say to ribbons. All that's left to do is give everyone their assignments." He pointed to Jyo and Salah. "Go get Tay Norat'k, the young Twi'lek healer, for me."

The two Jedi Students rose and hurried from the room only to return a moment later with Tay, who had been out in the hallway, just about to enter her room. Luke quickly explained the situation to her and asked for her services.

Tay merely nodded nervously. To be called on by the great Luke Skywalker was no little thing.

"Jyo, Salah, Ben, Nayanll, Tay, and myself will go to Duro immediately, using the new hyperspace jump method developed by Krison Glynt. He will plot our course for us, and Kam, who will be arriving at the Jedron spaceport shortly, will pilot us to Duro in the _Twilight Trekker_."

Luke counted off the remaining people present. "Tahiri will remain here to continue the other students' combat training, M-TD will take over their academic courses for now, and Lowbacca will get some rest.

"Our mission will be to merely subdue and retrieve Cordell. If it comes to the point where we have no other option, we may need to eliminate him. Understand?" He directed the question at everyone but looked directly at Jyo.

When no one objected, Luke nodded. "Good." And with that, he shut down the holoprojector. Everyone else stood and made their way out of Tahiri's room. They filed out into the hallway and drew many stares from other students as they passed through the lounge.

As they made the short walk from the Jome to the spaceport, Luke felt waves of different emotions from almost everyone. Jyo was worried about having to face his brother; Salah was determined to protect Jyo at all costs; Nayanll anticipated her confrontation with Cordell; Tay was just plain nervous; and Tahiri was frustrated at being left behind.

When they reached the _Twilight Trekker_'s hangar, the group found the vessel already there. Kam and Krison were there, as well as someone Luke did not recognize. It was a boy that looked to be about Jyo's age, with shoulder length brown hair that fell over his green eyes. And besides the traditional Jedi garb, the boy also wore a small peace pendant necklace.

"And who might you be?" Luke asked the stranger.

The boy did not smile when he replied. "Name's Trey Jint. I was a friend of Todan Ems, which makes me as involved in this whole thing as any of you!"

Salah stepped forward. "I've never seen you before."

"Maybe it's 'cause I ain't in the advanced class like you are, Red."

"Then what makes you think you could be any help to us at all?" Salah demanded.

Trey grinned at this. "Just because I wasn't chosen for the advanced class, don't mean I have no skills. Believe me, what I can do will surprise you."

"You mean besides talk like an ignoramus?" Salah jeered.

"Just my cover, Red. Just my cover."

Everyone turned to Luke for the call. The Jedi Master stared hard at Trey Jint for a long moment before deciding to let him come after all. "I'd like to notify your family…"

Trey interrupted. "No worries, Master Skywalker. My parents are both dead, and I'm an only child. I make my own decisions."

Luke sighed. "Very well. Lucky for you, I don't have time to look into all of this. But I sense you are telling me the truth." He pointed to the _Twilight Trekker_. "Okay. Everyone on board."

"Funky!" Trey replied.

Jyo nodded to himself. _Definitely a friend of Todan._

Krison Glynt remained outside with Tahiri, Lowbacca, and M-TD, having already set the coordinates for the hyperspace jump. The four of them waved as the _Twilight Trekker_ lifted and took off.

"May the Force be with you." Tahiri whispered.


	12. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

In a total of ten minutes, the _Twilight Trekker_ was orbiting the planet of Duro.

"According to the coordinates that Din Holnt supplied us with," Luke was saying. "Cordell crashed on the side of Duro that is completely uninhabited."

"But without any landmarks, how will we find him?" Salah asked.

Before Luke could answer, Trey spoke up. "Simple. If there's nothin' around, then it should be easy to spot a pile of wreckage."

Luke nodded. "Exactly."

Salah frowned at Trey, who pretended not to notice. Jyo stifled a chuckle for which Salah elbowed him in the ribs.

"But, Dad." Ben said. "Why so many people for such a simple mission? You and I could have handled this just as fine by ourselves."

Luke shook his head. "Call it a feeling. Not only have I learned not to underestimate Cordell," he turned to face the kids, "but I've also learned to make better judgments about the importance of family and friends. And remember, Jyo said Cordell is still alive. He did not perish in the crash."

An alarm went off, signaling that the _Twilight Trekker_'s orbit was now positioned above the coordinates they received from Din Holnt.

"Take us down, Kam." Luke said to the pilot.

Kam nodded and fired the thrusters.

"First, let's locate the crash site." Luke was saying as they approached the planet. "You can drop us off there, Kam. Then you need to take Tay to Sand Grain City so she can treat Zeek. You might as well rest and refuel while you're there. I'll contact the ship's radio via my comlink when we're ready to be picked up."

Kam nodded again. "Understood, Master Skywalker."

"I see it." Nayanll said suddenly. Her sharp eyes had spotted the pieces of wreckage, even from such a great distance.

Kam followed where she was pointing and soon set the ship down beside a long trench that had been dug by a crashing A-Wing. The A-Wing itself was almost nonexistent anymore. Just the arrow-like frame could be made out in the wreckage.

Everyone except for Kam and Tay exited the _Twilight Trekker_. Luke walked to the back of the ship and told Kam, over his comlink, to open the hold. A moment later, the hold doors opened and a loud banging sound came from the inside that sounded like footsteps.

The others took a step back when three oversized droids clomped out of the hold and down the ramp. The trio was armed with what looked like blaster rifles, thermal detonator launchers, and a rocket launcher.

Luke motioned to the droids and said. "Meet YVH-1, YVH-2, and YVH-3."

Jyo recognized the abbreviation. "Yuuzhan Vong Hunters?"

Ben nodded as he went to stand by his father. "As you know, this planet has, for some reason, been infested with vorts. Therefore, I had Kam make a visit to Lando Calrissian, the designer of the droids. Their Vong detection software will alert us to the presence of any vorts within a five mile radius."

Luke paused and spoke into his comlink. "Okay, Kam. Get going to Sand Grain City."

In response, the hold doors sealed shut, and the_ Twilight Trekker_ rose from the ground and shot off into the distance.

As the _Twilight Trekker_ flew off, the small group made its way over to the wrecked A-Wing. As Luke had feared, the cockpit was empty. Cordell was nowhere to be found. "Scan the area for other life forms." He said to YVH-1.

After a moment the droid replied. "No other life forms have been detected within my scanning range."

Luke glanced at Jyo questioningly.

Jyo caught the look and shook his head. "I can't detect him. He's completely hidden himself."

"How could he have gotten so far away in such an injured state?" Ben wondered aloud.

No one ventured an answer. Nayanll approached the A-Wing and began to circle it, looking closely for any clue that would tell them the general direction Cordell had gone. But the ground was too firm to have left footprints.

Salah started to walk away from the group, and Jyo followed.

"I wouldn't go wanderin' around out there if I were you, Red." Trey called after her.

Salah scoffed at him. "You heard Master Skywalker, the YVH droids will alert us if they detect anything. And stop calling me 'Red'. My name is Salah."

"All right. I just don't have a very good feeling about it."

"What do you mean?" Ben asked.

Trey shrugged. "Just feels like somethin' bad is gonna happen."

Just as he said this, there was a scream. Everyone looked at where Salah had been, but she was gone. And Jyo was on his knees looking at the ground.

Everyone rushed over; the droids marched slowly after them. Luke and the others gathered around Jyo and realized what had happened. Where Salah had stood, there was now a dark hole in the ground.

"SALAH!" Jyo yelled into the hole.

"Ow." Came the faint reply.

Luke was about to ask her if she was all right, when he felt the ground shift beneath him. His eyes widened in realization. Luke swung around and shouted to the droids to stop. But he was too late.

The first droid stepped onto the weak area, and its weight shook the thin layer of rock. Cracks formed everywhere, and the ground fell away, plummeting five humans plus one droid into the depths of Duro.


	13. Chapter 11

**Part 3:**

**Surprises**

**Chapter 11**

The Jedi reacted quick enough to steady and slow their descent into the hole, landing gently at the bottom. The YVH droid, however, slammed into the bottom hard. But because of the droids special armor, it took no damage and got up shortly after.

Luke looked up and estimated that the crater was about fifty feet deep. He saw the other two droids on the lip of the hole looking down at them. Luke waved them forward, and the droids jumped into the hole, using their hydraulic legs to land without damage.

Salah felt herself being hoisted to her feet. She turned to say "Thanks" but saw that it was Trey who had helped her. Salah pushed him away and brushed herself off instead.

"I warned you, Red."

Salah did not respond.

"Are you alright, Salah?" Jyo asked as he walked over.

Salah smiled and said. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Trey grinned. "So I guess that means you fell on your head." He shrugged. "I mean, it's the only thing hard enough to have withstood a fall like that."

Salah growled at Trey angrily and gave him the evil eye.

Trey laughed at this.

"Hey!"

The three turned to see Nayanll waving them over. "Let's go."

They suddenly noticed that Luke, Ben and the droids were nowhere in sight. All they could see was what looked like lights moving at the other end of the cavern.

"Master Luke discovered a tunnel out of here. Get your glowrods out and follow me." Nayanll said.

Tay thought that each time she treated someone it would become easier and easier; until eventually she would have become immune to the sight of any injury, no matter how gruesome. Unfortunately, that was not the case.

When she saw Zeek's charred and broken body lying there on the examination table, unconscious, she wanted to cry. _How many more of my friends will Cordell hurt before he is stopped?_ Tay thought angrily. Through teary eyes, Tay began to wipe down Zeek's body with soft rags soaked in bacta. With no bacta tank available, Zeek would not make a very speedy recovery.

The most serious injuries were the third degree burns covering Zeek's entire body, and his left arm looked like it had been broken. After the burns and cuts had been disinfected, Tay placed small bacta patches on the more serious ones. She then prepared the material for a cast.

Tay suddenly stopped and put down the plaster and mold. She walked over and sat down on a stool next to the examination table. Tay reached out to Zeek tentatively with her hand. She touched Zeek's forehead with her tiny fingers. Tay felt the tears start to come back, but she forced them down. She had to stay focused.

Tay closed her eyes and sent her Force perception into Zeek's body through the connection with his forehead.

The tunnel was not small. It was easily twice as high as Luke Skywalker was tall. The walls had many rough edges. _No machine did this._ Jyo thought to himself.

The glowrods cast an eerie light on the walls of the tunnel as the small group of Jedi and droids marched along. YVH-1 was in the lead with its Vong detection equipment on full alert. There was no telling what could be down in the depths of Duro.

Luke and Ben followed closely behind the lead droid. Their faces were calm, but every muscle in their body was ready to react at a moment's notice.

Nayanll walked silently behind the Jedi Master and Knight. Her padded feet made no sound as she stealthily followed, with a glowrod in one hand, and her unlit lightsaber in the other. She had been acting pretty high strung lately. It most likely had something to do with Todan's disappearance.

Trey Jint loped casually along behind the Bothan. He had hooked his glowrod to his belt and locked his hands behind his head. Although it was faint, Jyo could swear he heard him humming something.

Then came Jyo and Salah. Salah had slowed her pace at first to put some distance between her and Trey, and Jyo hung back as well. He could not understand why Salah disliked Trey so much. Sure he had taken Salah down a few notches with the whole falling into the hole thing; not to mention consistently calling her "Red" even after she told him not to. But that did not seem like enough reason to have a grudge against him.

Jyo sighed and glanced back at the other two YVH droids that brought up the rear. _I guess I'll never understand girls._ Jyo almost jumped when he felt something touch his hand. But then he realized that Salah had grabbed a hold of it. _Wait a minute!_ Jyo thought. _What is she doing? What is this?_ He turned his head and looked down at her. She seemed so small and delicate. But then, Jyo had just recently had a growth spurt and was now almost a head taller than most of the others in his class.

He turned to face forward again as they continued to walk down the dark, yet surprisingly straight tunnel. Even with his goggles set on night vision, he could not see the end of the gigantic passageway. He wondered just how far it really stretched. _Will it lead us back up to the surface? _ He wondered. Jyo glanced at Salah again and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. He kind of liked having Salah there beside him.

Tay surprised herself with the ease in which she sent her consciousness coursing through Zeek's veins. She had never tried this technique before, and yet it seemed natural.

Tay sent herself down into Zeek's left arm and could actually see the break in the bone. She visualized grabbing the separated bone and pulling the two pieces back together. Tay saw the bone reform before her very eyes and relaxed slightly. Suddenly, she was looking at Zeek from the outside again. _Did I just dream that?_ Gently she picked up Zeek's left arm and maneuvered the joint in every direction. She then felt around the break point. Tay let his arm fall to the table and stared in shocked disbelief. _It's fixed! It's working perfectly!_ Tay sat in awed silence. She had never expected that technique to work on the first try.

_I wonder if I can do the same thing with the severely burned areas!_ Tay thought excitedly.

The group had reached a crossroads … literally. The single tunnel they had been traveling through for miles now, suddenly branched off in several directions.

"Well, it only makes sense to stay together." Luke was saying.

"I agree. Splitting up in such an unfamiliar place would not be advisable." Ben added.

"Trial and error then?" Luke asked.

Ben nodded and pointed to the leftmost tunnel. However, after only a minute of walking, they reached the end of the tunnel. Thus, they backtracked and headed down the next tunnel. This one continued on for a ways before making a left turn and emptying into a rather large chamber with three more tunnels leading out.

Suddenly, YVH-1 began to emit a low beeping sound. Everyone froze. "Wha- what does that mean?" Salah asked nervously.

Luke turned around to look at her. "That's the YVH droids' Vong detection alarm."

Immediately, the Jedi formed a small circle, facing outwards. Then YVH-2 and 3 started emitting the same alarm. Luke gave the command to silence the noise and asked for a brief analysis of the situation.

YVH-1 complied instantly. "Vong life detected. Approaching our position from the north, northeast, northwest, and south."

Jyo checked his holocompass. The directions indicated by the droids matched the locations of the four tunnels that emptied out into the chamber.

"Can you give us an approximate number?" Luke asked YVH-1.

"Negative. Life signs approaching too closely together. Reasonable estimate: seventy." The droid replied in its monotone voice.

Tay relaxed in her seat as the last of the severe burn marks slowly turned from black and red back to Zeek's natural flesh tone. After a couple of tries, Tay was able to go in and repair several patches of damaged nerves at once. She felt satisfied that she had fully repaired all of the damage Zeek had incurred. Tay was just about to call for Master Din when she felt a faint disturbance in the Force.

Without warning, Zeek jolted upright, startling Tay. "The others are in trouble." He said. Zeek suddenly realized that he was no longer in pain. "How long have I been out?"

"Only a couple of hours." Tay answered.

"Then how…?" Zeek trailed off as Tay's smile answered his question.

Zeek shrugged. "Well, I still don't know how you did it, but that's not important right now. What is important is getting to Jyo and the others A.S.A.P."

Tay tossed him his tattered T-shirt and pointed to the brand new Jedi robe and standard lightsaber that Din had left him. Zeek donned both and hopped off the examination table just as alarms started going off.

"What in the world is that?" Tay asked as she covered her ears and her headtails thrashed violently.

Din burst into the room and was surprised to see Zeek up and about. He remembered his reason for barging in and told Tay and Zeek that something of Vong nature had activated Sand Grain City's perimeter alarms.

"More vorts?" Zeek asked as he clipped the replacement lightsaber to the back of his belt.

Din nodded. "A LOT more by the looks of the readings they're getting in central command."

A flustered man in a blue uniform screeched to a halt outside the open doorway. "Master Din! You must help protect our city!"

"Don't worry, Yibin. Just get the perimeter defenses up and running. Me and my apprentice here will guard the front gate." Din glanced at Zeek. "If you're up to it that is."

Zeek nodded. "I feel one hundred percent better, but I sensed that something was amiss with Jyo and the others. Frankly, I'm worried that it might be something similar to what's happening here."

Din rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Very well. Get to the _Twilight Trekker,_ and have Kam take you to them. I will remain here to guard the city."

At this, Yibin grabbed Din by the wrist and started to tug the Kamino Jedi out the door. As he ducked out Din said, "May the Force be with you, young Solo. I have sensed great things in your future."

Zeek smiled as Din disappeared around the corner. He made for the exit, but was stopped when Tay grabbed his wrist. "I'm coming with you."

Zeek was surprised at how determinedly she said those words. _How could the little Twi'lek he knew to always be so timid, sound so brave?_ "Wait a minute. You'd be defenseless."

Tay grinned and reached inside the medical bag she had brought from Jedron. She dug beneath the bottles of medicine and the bacta patches, and pulled out a hunk of metal that looked surprisingly familiar.

"You have a lightsaber?"

Still grinning, Tay said. "I kind of slipped one of the leftover focusing chips into my pocket as I handed them out back on Jedron. I figured it would be a nice little project for me to do on the side."

Zeek laughed. "Tay, you rock on so many levels."


	14. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Jyo's mind worked overtime to come up with some way out of this trap they had fallen into. Staying and trying to hold their own was out of the question. Even with six Jedi and three Vong hunting droids, they would not stand much of a chance if YVH-1's numbers were correct.

_Arrgh!_ Jyo growled and rapped himself on the head._ Think! Think! Think!_

Someone grabbed one of his arms, and he heard Salah's voice. "Maybe this will be more helpful." She said as she kissed Jyo lightly on the cheek. "You can do it." Salah whispered in his ear.

Through the suddenness and the surprise, Jyo found his plan. Jyo spun quickly around to face Luke and the others. "We need to seal off the tunnels." He pointed at the droids. "Have the YVH droids fire rockets into each tunnel, but make sure they hit inside the tunnel. We don't want a cave-in in here."

Luke turned to the droids. "You heard him! Do it!"

Immediately, YVH-1 fired two missiles, one into each tunnel it faced; and the other two YVH droids fired one of their own into the two remaining tunnels.

Each rocket struck about ten feet in, and just as Jyo had predicted, created an effective cave-in.

"That won't hold for long." Jyo said as the noise from the explosions subsided. He pointed up. "I believe that the ceiling of this chamber is as thin as the one we fell into in the first place. I need the YVH droids to fire their blasters at a single point until they break through, just to make sure."

Without waiting for Luke this time, the droids aimed their blaster rifles at the ceiling. YVH-1 fired to mark the aiming point then all three droids opened fire. After only several shots, the attack punched through the thin layer of crust, and sunlight shone in through the hole. The droids ceased fire.

"Good." Jyo said. "Now we just need to blow it completely open."

"I got it!" Trey said as he pulled something out of his pack and hurled it at the ceiling. "Seismic charge!" He said as the device attached itself to the rock above. "Everyone to one side!"

As the group crowded into a corner of the cavern, the seismic charge detonated. It vaporized most of the ceiling but several large chunks still plummeted to the cavern floor. One looked like it was going to come dangerously close to where the group had gathered, but Jyo felt Trey erect a Force bubble, and the piece of crust collided with it and bounced harmlessly off.

When the dust and dirt had settled, Jyo and the others looked up to see a gaping opening where the roof of the cavern had been. Now they just had to make it up there.

Before Jyo could suggest anything, they all heard a low, haunting roar coming from the tunnels. The vorts had reached the barricade, and the sounds off their struggle to break through seemed frantic and determined. Like the fact that there were six Force sensitive individuals just beyond their reach, drove them mad.

Jyo broke the worried silence with the last part of his plan. "Okay. I know none of us can jump that high, and levitating everyone would take too long. But what about throwing one another up and out? The combination of a Force enhanced throw with a Force boosted jump might just do it."

Luke nodded. "And the thrower?"

"We would just levitate him out after the rest of us are topside."

Luke nodded again and got on one knee, taking up the position of thrower.

Trey, however, insisted that he be the one. "I'll need you up there to levitate me up faster." He argued and Luke consented.

Trey got down on one knee and glanced at Salah. "Ladies first." He said with a smirk as he cupped his hands together.

Salah said nothing as she slid her foot into Trey's cupped hands.

"Remember to jump just as I reach the height of my throw." Trey reminded her.

Salah nodded stiffly. "Just make sure you throw me hard enough."

Trey snorted at this and set himself. "Ready … GO!" Trey stood as he tossed Salah with enough of an angle that she would land on solid ground.

The throw was perfect. Even as Salah disappeared over the edge of the hole, Luke was ordering the droids to exit the cavern immediately. The YVH droids compressed their hydraulic legs and built up pressure. Releasing it all at once, they shot out of the hole after Salah.

Nayanll had nudged Jyo to be the next one out, and Jyo gladly accepted. Ben and Luke were next to likewise be pitched out of the cavern.

Just as Luke disappeared over the edge, both Trey and Nayanll felt something give way. Rock and dirt tumbled out of one of the tunnels.

Trey motioned for Nayanll to hurry, but even as she placed her foot in his hands a vort poked its ugly head around the corner of the tunnel leading into the cavern.

The surprisingly intelligent (not to mention quick) vort seemed to evaluate that its prey was trying to escape, and realizing this, it dashed into the cavern and collided with Trey just as he threw Nayanll.

The impact threw Trey across the room. As he slid to a stop, hoping that Nayanll's throw had been accurate, he saw the first vort advancing toward him as several more poured into the cavern from the opened tunnel.

"Could you repeat that Master Luke?" Kam Twoplintor said into his ship's communication receiver.

"… Need immediate pickup … transmitting coordinates to … computer."

"Coordinates received. We're on our way, Master Luke." Kam replied.

The _Twilight Trekker_ shuddered as it changed course, and Kam gave it full throttle. Tay and Zeek sat on the acceleration couch behind the pilot's seat.

Zeek noticed that some of the bravado had gone out of Tay, and her old, worried self was trying to maker her second guess herself.

Zeek patted Tay's shoulder and said. "Everything is going to be fine. You'll see."

"How can you be so sure?" Tay asked with cloudy eyes.

Zeek shrugged. "Don't ask me why, but I just have this feeling that you have an enormous amount of hidden potential. All you need is something to trigger its release."

Tay sighed uncertainly.

"Don't worry. I believe in you." Zeek said with all the confidence he could muster.

Tay wiped her eyes and smiled at him. _I'll be brave … for him._ Tay quietly thanked Zeek, and he smiled back.

"No problem."


	15. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Even as she shot toward the vast opening in the top of the cavern, Nayanll knew she would not make it. The throw had lacked the angle that the others had had. She saw the surprised faces of Master Skywalker and the others as she peaked her jump and could see over the edge of the crater.

Nayanll knew none of them would be able to react quick enough to change the outcome. _Besides_, she thought_, I need to burn off some steam._ The Bothan girl smiled to herself as she used her cat-like balance to right herself in the air. As she plummeted back into the crater, she took in what she saw.

There was a group of vorts standing just outside the tunnel they had broken through. They did not notice her descent, it seemed, because their attention was focused on the first vort as it closed in on Trey Jint.

Nayanll landed silently on the dirt floor, but, as if it sensed her, one of the other vorts turned sharply and looked directly at her. Nayanll assumed it had notified the other vorts, when they all turned to look at her. Nayanll had her lightsaber on before they could even take one step in her direction.

The vorts were not intimidated by the young Jedi's weapon, however as about five of them headed in her direction, and five more took their place at the entrance. The other three tunnels suddenly gave in and more vorts appeared at the mouths of the tunnels, but seeing what was going on, they seemed content to just stand by and watch.

Nayanll tried to look over to see what was going on with Trey, but the first vort completely blocked her view of him. She turned her attention back to her five opponents and took up a ready position. The vorts' amphistaff arms began to snap and hiss. _Another step and they'll be able to reach me._ Nayanll silently realized.

Nayanll was about to make her move when the air was pierced with a wail of pain. Nayanll involuntarily looked in the direction of the sound. What she saw surprised her. The vort that had attacked Trey suddenly slumped to the ground in a smoldering heap. Then Trey rushed around the corpse and hurried over to stand beside Nayanll, who was too stunned to speak because of what had just happened … not to mention the fact that Trey looked kind of fuzzy. Nayanll rubbed her eyes with her free hand and looked again.

"What?" Trey asked before realizing what Nayanll was gawking at. "Darn it! I knew I should have tested it to see if Force lightning would short it out!"

Without another word, Trey reached inside his mouth and pulled something small from one of the crevices between his teeth, then tossed it aside. Nayanll's view of Trey cleared instantly … except for the fact that it was not Trey who was standing beside her.

"DENZ!"

"Hey, Nayanll." Said the brown- and blond-haired young Jedi that had been severely injured by one of his cousins no more than three months before. "How are you doing?"

Nayanll looked from him to the now peeved vorts that were surrounding them. She estimated fifty, not counting the ones still hidden in the tunnels. "I've been better." She replied.

He nodded toward the hordes of vorts. "What? You mean those things have you worried?" He said as he pointed at one. Before Nayanll could respond to the obvious question, Denz's hand glowed white just before a stream of light shot from his finger and struck the vort. It did not look anything like Force lightning, until it his that is. You could literally see the currents of electricity expand from the point of impact and spread over the vort's entire body before it collapsed, just like the one before it, into a smoldering heap. "They're easier than they look." He said as he blew on his finger like it was a smoking gun.

"Was that Force lightning?" Nayanll asked.

"Yes, but in a controlled state. Once you've mastered the attack, it can be focused into a single beam. It's more accurate and conserves a lot of energy."

Nayanll nodded, having been given some hope by Denz's display of power. _Maybe they would survive._

"Get down!" Denz said suddenly as he grabbed her shoulder and pulled her to the ground. Only seconds later there was a loud crashing sound as three heavy objects landed around them.

Even before the dust and dirt settled, the YVH druids opened fire on the vorts. Chaos ensued as the large group of vorts began to be picked off one by one with the YVH droids' powerful laser canons.

After about the tenth one fell, the alien creations began to get their bearings. They attacked the YVH droids in large groups, only to be repelled by the robots' heavy armor. In addition, those that had escaped the pit began to open fire with their own blasters from above.

More and more vorts continued to spill from the open tunnels, and once their numbers were sufficient, some began to try to exit the hole. Using their powerful legs and clawed feet, they would launch themselves from one side of the cavern to the other, moving slowly upward each time. Luke and the others tried to pick them off as they progressed upward, but there were just too many to handle. One poked its head over the edge of the hole only to receive an eyeful of Jyo's blaster. It fell back into the pit and bounced off of YVH-2's armor with a loud _clang._

Jyo turned to Salah as he ignited his lightsaber to take on the vorts that had made it out. "Something's different about these vorts." He said.

"What do you mean?" Salah asked as she tossed her blaster aside and pulled out her lightsaber.

Jyo noticed Master Skywalker and Ben doing likewise. Then it hit him as he sliced through the rough scales on a vort's head. "These are smaller! The one on Myrkyr was easily twice the size of these here."

"You mean these are just children?" Salah asked in disbelief as she ducked a swing from a vort's amphistaff arm before dashing forward, cutting the vort in half in the process.

The roar of an engine drowned Jyo's response out as the _Twilight Trekker_ soared overhead, its blaster cannons taking out a few vorts as it did. The vessel quickly landed, and Jyo was surprised when both Zeek and Tay leaped from the open hatch … not to mention the fact that Tay ignited a lightsaber of her own as they ran toward him. Jyo also noticed Kam setting himself on top of his ship, his "Kannon" ready to take pot shots at any vorts that made it past them.

Back down in the pit, the fighting had begun to let up. Denz and Nayanll were still being well guarded by the three YVH droids that had surrounded them and were keeping the vorts at bay. "Get ready." Denz said suddenly.

"Why...?" Nayanll started to ask, but her question was answered when sparks started to fly from one of the YVH droids before it fell to the ground and shut down.

Dozens of vorts poured over the downed droid. Denz grabbed Nayanll and leaped over the advancing vorts, landing behind them. He released Nayanll and jerked his right wrist in one direction. This released the lock on his arm clamp causing his lightsaber to shoot out of the sleeve of his Jedi robe and into his hand. He ignited the turquoise blade just in time to block a swing at his head from one of the vorts' amphiarms. He countered with a kick to the head followed by a shot of Force lightning aimed at the vort's midsection. Denz sensed it coming and erected a Force bubble around himself to block the stream of poison another vort shot at him. Denz turned and gestured with his left hand, and the vort flew backward and slammed into the far wall of the cavern with a bone-shattering crunch.

After a quick check to make sure Nayanll was doing all right, Denz crouched down and swung his lightsaber laterally at about knee level. As he did so, he turned a knob on the bottom of his lightsaber, and it grew to almost three times the length of its normal size. As a result, the swing took out a couple rows of vorts' legs at about the point of the reversed joint. Denz quickly shortened his lightsaber back to its original length as he hurried to take advantage of the vorts' confusion. Easily avoiding the flailing amphiarms, Denz ran through the pile of handicapped vorts, delivering a quick slash from his lightsaber to each of the vorts' heads, putting them out of their misery.

Denz sensed Nayanll's pain even before she screamed. He turned to see her left arm hissing like acid was eating away at it. _A vort's poison, no doubt._ He took out one vort as it lunged for her with a shot of Force lightning, but was not quick enough to stop a second one from crashing into her midsection. Nayanll flew backward, still clutching her left arm, and fell to the ground with a soft _thud._

Before the vort could follow up on its attack, Denz dropped it as well with another blast of concentrated Force lightning. Then he positioned himself between Nayanll and the vorts, just as another YVH droid blew under the pressure. Pressing a button on the bottom of his lightsaber, Denz widened the beam and upped the power. With a long, hard swing he dragged the end of the lightsaber along the ground in front of him, kicking up a huge cloud of dirt and steam as rock became super-heated and melted. He turned to see how badly Nayanll was hurt, and was surprised to see a gaping hole where she had been laying.

Before the dirt cloud dissipated, Denz deactivated his lightsaber and slid it back up the sleeve of his robe where the arm clasp automatically grabbed it. As he backed up toward the hole, he pressed a small button on the bottom of the clasp. Denz moved his arm in a semicircle as the clasp fired dozens of small devices through the dirt cloud. When he was satisfied that enough had attached to the vorts on the other side, Denz casually dropped into the hole behind him. He knew a shutter had closed over the opening, but that did not help to muffle the explosion that occurred only seconds after as all those miniature fusion bombs detonated, creating a massive fire ball that engulfed everything in the pit before shooting upward to create a sort of volcano effect.

"Everyone away from the pit!" Luke Skywalker yelled just seconds before there was a gigantic explosion deep inside the pit. The roiling mountain of fire and molten rock burst from the hole, instantly vaporizing the vorts who were unlucky enough to still be within ten feet of it.

As the eruption subsided, the others finished off the remaining vorts. Zeek activated his comlink and attempted to raise Din. The Kamino Jedi Knight answered immediately. Zeek asked him what was going on at his end with the vort infestation.

"Actually," he replied. "It's strange. They reached the first line of defense; a dozen or so automated lasers, and after only a few of them had been taken down … it was as if they changed their minds or something."

"What do you mean?" Zeek asked as the others gathered around to hear Din's explanation.

"Just what I said. They suddenly turned around and started off in the opposite direction." Din grunted in confusion. "I also had Yibin contact Particle City, and apparently the same thing had happened there as well."

"I wonder what's controlling these things?" Salah said as the transmission ended.

"Hmm?" Zeek said.

Salah gestured at the now charred rim of the pit. "Just think about it. I mean those vorts are way too organized to not have someone calling the shots."

"You may be on to something." Jyo said. "They did stage a three-pronged attack, where a multitude of vorts attempted to take out the two major cities and us.

"And it seems as though the other vorts that were attacking the cities, suddenly 'changed their minds' because they had been notified of defeat of so many at our hands."

"Speaking of which." Salah said as she gazed down inside the pit where the charred remains of dozens of vorts lay covering almost the entire bottom.

"But what about Trey and Nayanll?" Ben asked.

"I didn't sense them perish." Jyo nodded.

Zeek cleared his throat. "Um, first of all, Jyo's right. They're still alive; and secondly, this Trey person is actually my brother, Denz."

Even Luke seemed a little surprised by this revelation … and perhaps a little unnerved by how easily Denz had deceived him.

"His cover was blown the moment he revealed himself to Nayanll." Zeek explained. "I easily caught her surprise when she realized who it was."

"But that still does not tell us where they are." Tay pointed out.

Zeek shook his head. "I'm at a loss this time. Something dark is shrouding them both now."

Salah laughed once. "I'll give you three guesses, and the first two don't count."


	16. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

The first thing Denz noticed when he landed was how dark it was.

He could see fine, however; once he adjusted his eyes. The reason they gave off an eerie red glow was because they were not natural. His real eyes were still there, but the part that shows is just a device that Denz had invented soon after fleeing Myrkyr. Integrated directly into his eyes, these devices gave Denz the ability to see in the dark, detect body heat, as well as record information about an opponent's strengths and weaknesses, so that he will always have the data handy if ever faced with an adversary with similar abilities. Though the process of directly connecting these devices to Denz's eyes had been excruciatingly painful, he believed that experiencing such pain would lessen his resentment toward Cordell for the pain that he had caused him.

Denz spotted Nayanll, lying a few feet away whimpering as she clutched her wounded arm. He moved to kneel beside her, and she jumped when he touched her on the shoulder. "It's only me." He reassured her. "Let me see your arm."

"How can you see anything?" She moaned.

Reluctantly, Nayanll held her arm out for him to see. Her fur had quickly absorbed the poison, causing it to fall out, but preventing the majority of it from reaching her flesh. The little that did though, now hissed and burned as it ate away at it.

Seeing all this through his special "eyes", Denz quickly wrapped his hands around the wounded area.

Nayanll gasped in surprise but did not scream. Denz's hands were surprisingly cool and soothing, and when he released her arm, there was no more burning sensation. As a reflex, Nayanll reached down and stroked her arm, but besides a small bald spot where her fur had been eaten away, her arm seemed normal. She heard Denz rise, and then felt him grab her hand as he hoisted her up as well. Nayanll did not question Denz when he told her to follow him; she just let him lead her through the dark that was so complete, her cat-like eyes were unable to discern anything.

"We should head back to Sand Grain City." Ben was saying as the _Twilight Trekker _hovered undecidedly in the air over Duro.

"But what about Denz?" Zeek asked.

"And Cordell?" Jyo added.

"If we go back to the city first, we can get more vehicles and split into pairs allowing us to cover more ground faster." Ben explained.

Kam nodded. "Well that decides it. Back to Sand Grain we go!" He said as he punched the throttle.

They had been walking through the totally darkened underworld of Duro for quite some time now. Nayanll was beginning to wonder if Denz really knew where he was going. Before she could ask though, Nayanll became aware an eerie green light coming from the end of the tunnel they were in. They soon rounded the corner, and Nayanll gasped at what they saw.

Illuminated by a strange fungus that had formed in patches on the cavern walls, they saw a long row of pod-like structures that lined the walls of the cavern. As they traversed the dimly lit area, Nayanll looked closer at the pods.

"They look like they've all been broken."

"Or hatched." Denz replied, and she saw him point at one of the "eggs".

Sure enough, inside was the yet-to-be-born shape of a vort. Nayanll waited expectantly for a bolt of Force lightning to spring from his outstretched finger, frying the creature where it lay. She was surprised when Denz continued on toward the other end of the cavern, and she questioned him on it.

"I don't believe in senseless slaughter. I will kill only if my life or the life of my friends and family are threatened." Denz said with calm conviction.

"But Cordell falls under both categories." Nayanll pointed out.

Denz sighed. "And therein lies the gray area. While I will not hesitate to kill him because he is a threat, I would consider that option to be used only, and I mean only, as a last resort."

"You speak with such assurance. Do not forget, Cordell is different now." Nayanll said as she recalled Cordell's frightening display of power back on Jedron. "You have not seen firsthand what he has become."

Denz made no reply, and Nayanll did not push the matter as she fell in behind him. They continued to make their way through the numerous tunnel-connected caverns and "hatching areas", which were, with the exception of the first one, all completely empty.

Still illuminated by the strange green fungus that grew on the walls, the pair entered a rather large open area that seemed to have no exit. However, Nayanll spotted a formation in one wall that looked somewhat like stairs, which spiraled up the circumference of the cavern, finally disappearing into the darkness above.

"Let's go."

Nayanll nodded, and they began to jump from step to step, slowly working their way upwards. At one point the strange green moss no longer grew on the cavern walls, and darkness quickly overtook them. Nayanll became worried when she could no longer see where she was jumping, for fear she might fall.

Denz seemed to notice her distress, for he stopped and said. "Are you sure you want to continue on? I sense that 'he' is nearby."

Nayanll took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Of course I do. Besides, how else am I going to get out of here?"

Denz nodded but did not point out the fact that she had failed to comment on his statement that Cordell was nearby. Instead he deftly scooped her up into his arms and continued to jump upward along the step-like formation.

Reaching the top, Denz set Nayanll down but continued to lead her by the hand until they rounded a corner and had to shield their eyes from the sudden brightness. When they could see again, Denz and Nayanll realized that they were standing in a gigantic crater.

Nayanll immediately asked Denz if he had any kind of communication device. Now that they were above ground, they could contact the others. Nayanll was about to ask him again when he did not respond, but stopped when she realized that he was looking directly at something. She followed Denz's gaze and gasped when she saw the figure standing up above on the rim of the crater.

"So glad you could make it." Said the boy with the strikingly blond hair.

"You speak as though I had a choice in the matter … Cordell."


	17. Chapter 15

**Part: 4**

**Confrontation**

**Chapter 15**

"You've gotten clever, Cordell." Denz said as he glared up at his cousin from the bottom of the crater. "Using Nayanll to pinpoint my location, then luring me here by dropping her down that hole."

Cordell just grinned and snapped his fingers. Immediately a sound like heavy footsteps was heard coming from beyond the rim of the crater. As they came closer, Denz and Nayanll began scanning the edge of the crater, waiting for whatever it was to appear. Suddenly, the unmistakable heads of three vorts poked over the rim. As they continued forward, Denz realized that these were different from the ones at the pit. These were bigger … much bigger. Easily three times larger than the ones they had encountered previously, the vorts cast massive shadows over the crater.

"How in the world are you able to control vorts? Even I couldn't break through the simple programming that plagues their minds." Denz asked Cordell.

"Who says I reprogrammed them?" Cordell shrugged. "I merely promised them the ultimate reward for their loyalty."

"And what might that be?" Nayanll demanded.

Cordell laughed aloud. "Why, an entire planet of Jedi, of course!"

"You wouldn't dare!" Denz was taken aback by the open threat.

"Why would you do such a thing?" Nayanll asked.

Cordell shrugged again. "Well, I figure once I've killed Denz, I'll need something else to do with all this power I have. And what could be better than destroying all the Jedi and becoming the most powerful being in the galaxy!"

"There's always someone stronger, Cordell." Denz said solemnly.

"Fool! That's why I'm getting rid of all the Jedi … so none have a chance to become stronger than me." With that Cordell nodded and the three giant vorts stepped into the crater and began to make their way toward Denz and Nayanll.

After the middle one had taken only two steps, a concentrated bolt of Force energy struck it square in the chest. The attack spread quickly through the monster's body before it fell forward, hitting the ground hard and sliding the rest of the way down into the crater where it lay still.

Denz attempted the same attack on the vort on the right only a second later, but this one, seeing its brother dropped with only one hit, swatted the bolt of energy away with one of its extremely long and heavily armored amphiarms. Denz turned to Nayanll. "Don't move." He said right before dashing forward, leaping over the smoking vort, and coming to a halt directly between the two advancing vorts.

Nayanll withdrew her lightsaber anyway, but before she could even activate it, Cordell was standing beside her, his own acid-yellow blade hovering inches from her throat. "If you're smart, you'll stay out of this." Cordell said as he lowered his weapon and held out his hand.

Nayanll slowly went to put her lightsaber in Cordell's hand but dropped it at the last moment and instead grabbed his hand and pulled him forward, bringing her knee up into his stomach. Cordell _whooffed_ as the air was knocked out of him and grunted as Nayanll whacked him on the back of the neck with two clenched fists. Cordell fell to the ground with a thud. Nayanll bent down to retrieve her lightsaber and gasped when Cordell suddenly grabbed her wrist and said, "Is that the best you can do?" Without waiting for an answer, Cordell flung Nayanll away as if she weighed no more than a womp rat.

Nayanll landed upright a dozen feet away and glared at Cordell as he climbed to his feet. Cordell smiled and said. "I'm afraid all you managed to do was hurt my feelings." He chuckled. "I had expected you to be a good little girl and hand over your lightsaber." He said this as Nayanll's weapon floated up to his hand. "Which you did, albeit violently." He gestured at Denz who had engaged the two remaining vorts. "But for now I suggest you sit back and watch the show."

Nayanll scowled but said nothing.

Denz was relieved when Cordell did not kill Nayanll for her defiance, now he could focus on his fight. He easily predicted and avoided the vorts' attacks, even with one on each side. Finally, one made the mistake he had been waiting for. The vort swung his huge amphiarm downward hoping to crush Denz beneath it. Denz sidestepped the swing, however, and the vort's deadly limb slammed into the ground creating a small crater. Before the vort could withdraw its amphiarm for another assault, Denz reached out and grabbed the vort's arm, sending waves of Force lightning through the connection. The ten-foot-tall vort exploded as its body was unable to contain all the energy.

Denz erected a Force shield to keep the vort's innards from getting on him as well as to deflect a blow from the remaining vort. Denz turned his attention to the only one left standing. It screeched as it swung its arms wildly in long sweeping arcs. Denz leapt backward out of the ampiarms' range. The vort paused and pointed both of its amphiarms at its enemy. From the snake-like mouths shot dozens of needles made purely of poison. Denz saw the attack in time and stopped only those needles that would have hit him, letting the rest fly harmlessly past him. Before the vort could launch another volley, Denz sent the needles he had stopped back at the creature. While some bounced harmlessly off the vort's armored plating, many found purchase in soft spots and joints. The vort began to jerk and spasm as the poison took effect. Even while the vort still clung to life, Denz turned and began to walk directly toward Cordell. Finally, the vort sighed its final breath and collapsed behind him.

"Aww, such a pity your performance had to end so soon." Cordell said with a sneer. "And you don't even seem the least bit flustered. Tsk, tsk, I'll just have to fix that won't I? Think fast!"

Denz had expected Cordell to launch an attack at him, but instead Cordell flung Nayanll's lightsaber at her. It moved so fast that Nayanll did not have time to catch it, and just as his hit her chest, Cordell used the Force to activate the blade.

Nayanll gasped her final breath as the weapon pierced her skin and extended out through her back. She fell onto her side as Cordell deactivated the lightsaber and it fell to the ground next to Nayanll.

Cordell turned to Denz and breathed a sigh of satisfaction. "That should be sufficient to draw a crowd." He said and then noticed something different about Denz. _His eyes, they're glowing!_

Denz had done well to keep his emotions in check up till now, but witnessing the death of a friend at Cordell's hands was almost too much to handle.

"Ah, I see that bothered you slightly." Cordell grinned. "Good, 'cause that means the real fun can start now."

Each group of Jedi felt it. The loss of a friend stung strongly on their hearts. They were instantly in contact with each other via comlink.

"That was definitely Nayanll." Zeek said.

"In that last moment of pain, I got a mental picture of Cordell grinning with satisfaction." Ben said to the other two groups over the comlink.

"I saw something as well." Luke added from Ben's end. "They were standing in some kind of crater."

"I'll contact Din, and see if he can find out if Yibin knows anything about that crater." Zeek said, although he knew it was a long shot.

A few moments after conversing with Din via comlink, the Jedi Knight contacted his apprentice with the news that Yibin, unfortunately did not know anything about a crater of the size they were talking about. "But," Din said before Zeek could respond, "Yibin had the idea to call Rolind, Denz's personal aide, to see if he knew anything, and sure enough, Rolind said that where that crater is, is where his settlement used to be."

"Great!" Zeek exclaimed. "Send me the coordinates and I'll retransmit them to everyone else."

"Consider it done." Din replied.

Zeek checked his data pad and found the numbers displayed on it. After re-transmitting the information, he turned to Tay and said. "It's going to be dangerous. Are you sure you want to come?"

Tay laughed lightly, but the nervousness was evident in her voice. "I'm not backing out now! I want to see Cordell stopped once and for all!"

"But won't that put you out of a job?"

Tay took a step back, a shocked expression on her face. "How could you say something like that?"

Zeek put up his hands in an apologetic gesture. "Hey, I'm sorry. I was just trying to lighten the mood."

Tay scowled at him as she got into the speeder. "That wasn't even a little funny!"

Zeek was silent as he started up the speeder and set their course.

Cordell slid his deactivated lightsaber back into its holster and said. "Now, let's test you out, shall we?"

Denz glanced again at Nayanll's lifeless body before taking a deep breath and turning to face Cordell. "Cordell, you don't have to do this."

"Oh, but I've been _wanting_ to do this for so long." Cordell sneered before rushing forward and delivering a staggering right hook to Denz's jaw.

Denz stumbled backward a few steps before righting himself. He massaged his jaw briefly, and then straightened up once again facing Cordell with his hands clasped behind his back. "I don't want to hurt you, Cordell."

"Don't worry, I won't give you the chance." Cordell rushed at Denz again, this time hitting him hard in the stomach.

Denz bent over and coughed once before resuming his previous position. "You must put the past behind you. Though Nayanll is never coming back, I have accepted the fact and have forgiven you. If I can forgive you for something like that, what's to say the others won't forgive you for everything else you've done? All you have to do is choose to accept the forgiveness being offered to you."

Cordell frowned. "I never asked to be forgiven. You just assume that I am sorry for what I've done, when in reality I don't regret one thing!" Cordell spun around and aimed a kick at Denz's head.

Denz raised one hand to stop the kick from connecting. "Drop the tough guy act, Cordell. I liked the slightly hot-headed cousin that enjoyed a good physical challenge better."

"Guess what." Cordell said as he swung with his right fist only to be stopped when Denz grabbed it in mid swing. "I find this lifestyle much more thrilling."

Still holding Cordell's fist in his hand Denz's voice took on a pleading tone. "Please, Cordell. We're family."

"You're such a wuss." Cordell snickered as he brought his left fist around and having it stopped in the same manner.

Now staring face-to-face, Cordell's fists trapped in Denz's hands, the cousins felt it at the same time. "The others are coming." Denz said.

"I guess that means I'll just have to finish you off quickly so I can take care of them as they arrive." Cordell replied through clenched teeth.

Denz sighed deeply as he accepted the fact that Cordell would not be persuaded by words alone. "Very well. I will use other methods to show you that choosing the dark side was the wrong way to go."

"Bring it o—"

Cordell was stopped short as his nose met Denz's knee. He staggered backward and growled in pain. His vision could not even clear before Denz followed up with a sharp blow to Cordell's gut. As Cordell bent over, Denz crouched down and delivered a Force enhanced kick to Cordell's chest. The dark Jedi Student groaned in pain as the kick connected, propelling him up and backward out of the crater.

Denz walked slowly up the slope of the crater. As he breached the top he was met with a bolt of Force lightning that was easily deflected by his Force shield.

"You're stronger than I thought." Cordell said. "Let's see you block this!"

Cordell raised both of his hands into the air and launched a massive lightning attack. The bolts flew up before beginning to rain down on Denz.

Denz's eyes recorded and analyzed the attack providing him with the best way to stop it. Denz raised one hand into the air and pointed his open palm straight up. The lightning storm immediately calmed and condensed as it focused in on one point. The void Denz created in his hand started to suck in each and every bolt of Force lightning until Cordell finally stopped feeding energy into his attack.

Cordell let his arms fall to his side and he began to breath heavily. Denz's right hand glowed and sparked with power as the last of the Force lightning was drawn into it. Denz felt his hand go numb, and it took all his concentration to keep it from spreading up his arm. He lowered his hand and pointed it off to the side. Sending a wave of Force energy down his arm and through his hand, he pushed all the Force lightning out in one giant ball of energy. The pulsating orb flew off into the distance before making contact with the ground and exploding into a dome of electricity that expanded for several miles before dissipating.

Denz shook his right hand to try to get rid of the numb feeling; then he said. "Not bad. Now try some of mine!" Denz made a fist with his left hand, and it began to glow. He pulled it back; then punched the air in front of him. Just as his arm fully extended, the concentrated Force lightning was released from Denz's clenched hand.

Cordell tried to stop it, but there was just too much at one time. The bolt slammed into his chest, sending him flying backward a dozen feet. He hit the ground and slid for a ways before stopping and getting to his feet. Bewildered, Cordell rubbed the spot where the attack had connected. Except for a slight tingling, he did not feel anything. He looked up at Denz and frowned in confusion when he saw Denz still holding his clenched fist out in front of him.

"Cordell, please stop this." Denz pleaded.

"Why? You may be able to stop my attack, but yours didn't even hurt me!"

"Cordell, I'm begging you!"

"Begging for your own life? How pathetic!"

"Cordell!"

"NO, DENZ! This ends now!"

Denz sighed in defeat. "You're right, Cordell. This is the end." He said solemnly; then slowly, he opened his hand.

Searing pain shot through Cordell's entire being. Every nerve, every muscle screamed out in agony, as did Cordell. It took every ounce of Denz's concentration to focus the Force lightning's effects on only nerve endings and minor organs, keeping it a safe distance from Cordell's heart and mind.

The attack wore off after a moment, but that was all it took. Cordell fell face forward to the ground and passed out. Denz also fell to his knees and began a calming exercise. He could sense the others approaching. It would not be long until…

"…We're here!" Salah announced from behind Jyo. She hopped off the back of the swoop bike and surveyed the crater. Suddenly she was taken aback. "Oh, Jyo…" She cried.

"I know." He said quietly. Besides the two gigantic vort corpses that littered the crater, they had also spotted Nayanll. They had almost overlooked her, because her fur was almost the same color gray as the ground.

Jyo and Salah slid down into the crater, and Jyo removed his outer cloak as he did. He approached Nayanll and draped his cloak over her. He picked up the Bothan girl's lightsaber and handed it to Salah, he then picked up the cloak-covered body and began the arduous task of carrying Nayanll's lifeless form back up the incline of the crater. However, by using the Force to steady himself, it was only a matter of minutes before he breached the rim of the crater.

He laid the cloak-wrapped form beside the swoop bike and said to Salah. "She'll have a traditional Jedi funeral once this is all over." Nayanll was officially the first Jedi to die at Cordell's hands. _And she'll also be the last!_ Jyo thought determinedly.


	18. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Pan had watched the initial bout between Denz and Cordell intently. Denz clearly had the upper hand despite the fact that he had just witnessed a close friend perish at his adversary's hand.

"He has learned to completely block any and all emotional distractions. A formidable ability, one that Cordell seemed to have in the first place. One that he tried to use against Denz to throw him off balance."

It was becoming clear to Pan what the outcome would be. While both combatants were seemingly evenly matched with the same abilities and strengths, the confrontation had so far been pretty much one-sided.

"The X-factor must have something to do with it." Pan thought out loud. He knew it was not over yet. Cordell was merely biding his time. Pan knew that, and he knew that Denz knew it as well. _Instead of striking him down now while he is vulnerable, the light one would rather wait for the dark one to make the first move, so that all his actions will be purely in self-defense._ Pan knew Cordell would not hesitate, but he had to wonder if Denz had it in him to eliminate Cordell if it seemed that there was no other way to stop him.

"Now the dark one's brother has joined the party. What interesting new developments might this create?" Pan wondered to himself.

Jyo scanned the horizon and saw two figures on the opposite side of the crater. He zoomed in with his glasses and saw what he figured was the back of Denz's head, as well as Cordell laying face down on the ground. "Let's go!" He said to Salah as he started to make his way around the crater.

Salah fell in behind him. She had a bad feeling about what was to come.

As they approached Denz, he suddenly said. "STOP!"

Jyo swallowed. "Is he…?" He started to ask.

Denz, still kneeling, slowly shook his head and said. "It is not over."

Cordell suddenly sprang to life, his ignited lightsaber raised over his head. He brought the blade down on Denz, who instinctively blocked the attack with his own lightsaber.

Jyo blinked behind his glasses, Denz had blocked so quickly that Jyo could not even tell from where he had pulled his lightsaber.

Denz pushed up as he stood, and Cordell leapt backwards.

Jyo, Salah, and Denz all felt it at the same time, and looking at Cordell through the Force revealed him to be surrounded by a strange, dark aura.

Denz's eyes analyzed the aura before he made an evaluation. "His physical body was pretty much defeated by my previous attack. All that remains is the dark energies that he had utilized for his own purposes." He glanced at Jyo and Salah. "This is about to get extremely dangerous. As a last defense, Cordell's abilities are now in their most raw form." Denz turned to face Cordell once again and said. "I don't want to see another friend die today."

There was a moment of silence, and then Denz's statement was answered by the _snap-hiss _of two lightsabers igniting behind him. "We won't let you do this alone." Jyo said.

Without turning around Denz stated simply. "Don't worry. I've got it covered." With that he motioned with his empty hand and another lightsaber shot from the sleeve of his robe into his open palm. He ignited the second lightsaber and held both down at his sides. The two blades simultaneously shortened to about two-thirds of their original length. Denz raised both and took up a defensive position.

Jyo could not help but notice the way Denz told him and Salah about the dual blades. "I call them lightdaggers. When both are active, a special mechanism is triggered, automatically shortening them a fraction of their original length. It makes them faster and a lot easier to control than two full-length lightsabers."

The sound of simple satisfaction with something he had created was always evident in his voice when Denz was telling people about it. Jyo, having heard it so many times before at the Installation, picked up on this immediately. He smiled slowly and deactivated his lightsaber, and he motioned to Salah who followed suit. Initially Jyo had been worried that this Denz, who seemed so different from the one he had traveled to Jedron with, would lay waste to Cordell without a second thought. But now Jyo knew that even though he appeared a lot rougher, the Denz he knew so well was still in there somewhere; and he knew that Denz would never kill Cordell.

"You'll need our help to restrain him." Jyo stated.

Denz nodded, still with his back to them. "I'll let you know when."

Cordell did not comprehend anything the others said. In his semi-aware state the only thing that he understood was that Denz now had two lightsabers and the others had deactivated theirs. Then the rage took over … and he charged.

Cordell swung horizontally as he dashed at Denz, who sidestepped and raised one blade to deflect the blow. Cordell turned sharply out of his dead run and leapt into the air his lightsaber raised above his head in both hands. He brought it down hard on Denz who crossed his blades above his head, stopping the attack.

Denz grunted from the force of the blow while Cordell stood expressionless as they deadlocked. The three lightsabers snapped and crackled with energy as Denz and Cordell pushed against each other.

Just before Denz tried to break away, Cordell brought his right leg around in a lightning fast roundhouse that struck Denz in the side. Cordell also pulled his lightsaber back as he kicked Denz causing him to lose his balance. As Denz stumbled Cordell pushed with the Force and sent him sprawling.

As soon as he hit the ground Denz rolled to the side as Cordell jammed his lightsaber into the ground right where Denz had been. Cordell pulled his weapon back out, and before Denz could regain his feet Cordell punted him in the side again.

Denz rolled and tumbled across the ground but sprang out of it after a dozen feet or so. Denz took a deep breath to focus himself. He knew that last kick had broken a rib, even though he had tried to soften the blow. He could still fight; he had suffered worse when he had first started taking down vorts on this planet.

He glanced at Jyo and Salah for a brief moment. Just long enough to make sure it did not look like they were going to try anything. Denz was relieved when it seemed as though they still trusted in his abilities.

Jyo scanned the horizon. "I wonder what happened to everyone else?" He wondered aloud.

Salah shrugged. "Good question." She dug in a pocket and pulled out her comlink. "Let's find out." She tried several times to get through to either of the other groups. Finally Zeek answered, but he did not sound happy.

"What do you want?" He yelled into his comlink.

Salah had to hold it away from her ear because it his reply was so loud. She though she heard Tay calling him in the background. "What's going on with you guys?"

"What's it sound like? We're being attacked by a whole bunch of vorts!"

Just then Salah heard the scream of a dying creature. "I wonder why we weren't able to sense your distress?"

"You got me! YAAAH!"

Salah heard Zeek sigh and heard him taking deep breaths.

"It's over. The last few are retreating underground. Our speeder is pretty thrashed, unfortunately. I'll try to contact Master Skywalker to see if he's all right and if he can swing by and collect Tay and me." Zeek reported.

"Good luck. Salah out."

"I bet I know why we couldn't sense that they were in trouble."

"What?"

"Our close proximity to Cordell. He's almost the embodiment of the dark side, and you know how the dark side blurs a Jedi's perceptions."

Salah nodded. "A logical assumption. But one thing bothers me."

"And that is?"

"If Cordell is in the kind of state Denz said he was in, how is he still controlling the vorts?"

Jyo rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "It is possible that the vorts are now merely following their original programming."

"Which is to hunt down and kill all Jedi, right?"

"That's right…" Jyo suddenly saw her point, and his lightsaber was out instantly along with hers.

They felt it at the same time. Simultaneously pulling their attention away from the fight between Denz and Cordell, they looked across the crater to where they had left the swoop bike and Nayanll's body.

The ground seemed to open up right at that very spot and swallow the swoop bike whole. Jyo zoomed his glasses in on the spot, but it was unnecessary. As they watched, five gigantic vorts climbed out of the hole and looked in their direction. The fearsome beasts emitted a haunting howl that sent shivers down Jyo and Salah's spines.

"We can't let them reach Denz and Cordell." Jyo said determinedly.

Salah nodded grimly. "Agreed. But do we even stand a chance?"

Jyo thought for a moment. "We might give ourselves an advantage if we mind-meld."

"Of course! But, Jyo … we've never actually tried mind-melding. Do you think we can pull it off?"

Jyo looked across the crater at the vorts again. They seemed to be looking into the crater where the corpses of two other vorts could be seen. "Only one way to find out!"

The two joined hands, closed their eyes and began to focus. Never having done this before, Jyo and Salah could only rely on their instincts as they searched for that center; that point that would link the two of them. Just as they were beginning to think it was a lost cause, something clicked.

Jyo and Salah opened their eyes and realized that they were seeing two things at once. No words needed to be spoken. Mere thought was all that was necessary to communicate between the two of them.

_We've done it, Salah!_

_Yes, we … AHHH!_

Suddenly, something seemed to explode in both of their minds and their vision was painted over with a bright white light.


	19. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

Denz was aware of the giant vorts that had suddenly appeared on the other side of the crater. He did not dwell on their presence for very long, however, since Cordell was pushing what advantage he had.

Denz blocked and parried with one of his lightdaggers, while attempting a thrust or slash with the opposite one. But Cordell's speed and reflexes had increased exponentially. So every time Denz deflected an attack and countered with one of his own, Cordell's always seemed to be able to get his lightsaber into position to stop the attack and continue on the offensive.

After another failed attempt at penetrating Cordell's defenses, Denz leapt backward a couple dozen feet to regroup and analyze the situation. Suddenly an explosion of power blinded his Force sense, and a quick glance at Cordell showed that even in his delusional state he had sensed it as well.

Denz looked over at Jyo and Salah again and saw the two of them on the ground clutching their heads. Denz did not know exactly what had happened, but he could now sense that Jyo and Salah's Force power had quintupled. Denz smiled slowly as his eyes scanned and identified the Force currents running between the two individuals.

_A mind-meld is it? But their power hasn't just doubled as with a normal meld._ Denz nodded to himself as he turned his attention back to Cordell who had lost interest with Jyo and Salah. _It seems the observations I made while disguised as Trey Jint were correct. Not just any two people could mind-meld and create that kind of power. No. This must be what I've theorized to be … a soul-meld._

Once the shock subsided, the two friends stood. No words needed to be said. Every thought, every question traveled instantly to the other person via the link … and answers and speculations came equally fast.

After a moment, the two turned their attention to the advancing vorts. Simultaneously they started to walk. They also ignited their lightsabers, holding them down at their sides. At an unseen signal, Jyo and Salah became a blur as they sprinted into the crater.

Meanwhile, Denz blocked and sidestepped another attack by Cordell. He smiled at how little time it took for Jyo and Salah to become so close. _I had felt something between them even from the beginning, but I don't think they even realized it._

While Denz whished he could dwell on such happy thoughts, he knew he had a job to do. First he deactivated his lightdaggers, sliding both hilts back up the sleeves of his robe where the arm clasps grabbed and secured them. He then turned to Cordell who had not seemed to think twice about the drop in defenses as he charged and swung his own lightsaber wildly.

Denz jumped ten feet straight up, and Cordell ran underneath of him. As he landed, Denz thought. _I hate to think I had to fool Jyo and Salah into believing that my lightdaggers were my ace in the hole to beat Cordell, but if I hadn't shown them off, they might have interfered._

As it was, Denz was now concentrating all of his energy on getting inside Cordell's head. Breaking through the mental barrier was as hard as trying to fight Cordell physically, but in the end it finally caved. 'Cordell! Think about what you're doing!' Denz forced the thought into Cordell's mind.

'Denz, help.' Was the weak reply.

This startled Denz. Cordell's request for help did not make any sense. 'Cordell?'

'…Trapped.'

Jyo deftly raised his lightsaber to stop the vort's attack, he then pushed up and jumped into the air, kicking the vort in the face, knocking it off balance. Jyo followed with a Force push that sent the vort reeling backward.

Salah suddenly broke away from the vort she was engaged with. She spun around and away only to stop several feet away, where she raised her own lightsaber to impale Jyo's vort as it fell over backward. She turned and swung her lightsaber like a golf club, flinging the deceased vort off and into the one she had just been fighting. The two entangle creatures flew up and away before crashing down onto the crater floor.

Another vort was already taking swings at Jyo who dodged them easily, and the other two had Salah surrounded. One suddenly let loose a piercing screech that made Salah's head scream out in pain. She knew the other vort would be attacking, but Salah felt as thought she had been paralyzed. The sensation of flight abruptly replaced the pounding in her head, and she opened her eyes to see a vort's amphiarm embedded in the ground where she had been. Salah immediately knew that Jyo had Force pushed her out of the way at the last moment. She made a mental note to watch out for that move.

'Trapped? What's that supposed to mean?'

Cordell's response was as faint as ever. 'All I know is I got hit with that bolt of energy and was about to attack again when I was suddenly in immense pain and blacked out.'

'Are you aware of anything that's going on now?' Denz queried.

'No.'

Denz opened his eyes just long enough to catch a glimpse of Cordell without breaking off the mental link. What he saw helped him to relax. Instead of charging at Denz to deliver the death blow, Cordell was on the ground clutching his head. Apparently, Denz's mental intrusion was having more of an effect that he had anticipated.

'Denz.' Cordell's voice seemed a little louder. 'I'm not still unconscious, am I?'

'That you aren't.' Denz responded. 'I myself am not completely sure of what's going on.'

Suddenly a third voice entered the mix. 'Come now. Surely you must have at least some logical assumption, Denz Solo.'

'That voice!' Denz suddenly got a mental picture of the strange creature he met in the forest of Jedron. 'Pan!'

'Quick and to the point as always I see, young Jedi.'

'What's going on?' The volume of Cordell's voice was greatly diminished.

'Care to venture a guess, young Solo?'

'Let's skip the guessing and get right to the explanations.' Denz demanded.

'As involved as this whole thing may seem it's really quite simple.' Pan began. 'I belong to a species that arrived in this galaxy not long before the Yuuzhan Vong invasion. Unlike the Yuuzhan Vong, we had not come for conquest but for entertainment.' Pan paused, and Denz could almost see the smile on the creature's face as he continued. 'And what amusement we received as we watched this galaxy struggle against the Yuuzhan Vong.' Pan sighed. 'Alas, our pleasure was not to last. The Yuuzhan Vong, though not completely vanquished, were undoubtedly defeated in the end. Thus we needed to seek new entertainment.'

'You used us.' Denz's voice was like ice.

'In a way, yes. The Jedi had always fascinated us in that their mental abilities were so similar to ours. They had also proven to be quite the warriors. However, the older Jedi were not easily influenced.'

'So you went after the minds of yet to be Jedi.' Denz growled.

'We needed two people that were completely different. We had learned of the eternal battle between light and darkness, and that the dark side was unstable. And while we could no longer control you, Denz Solo, when your premature reawakening unexpectedly awoke some hidden power in you; your cousin, Cordell Durron, whom we had already chosen to be your opponent was all too easily influenced.'

Jyo dashed underneath of the lunge and jumped straight up, dragging his lightsaber along the length of the vort's body. He flipped out of the leap and landed behind the beast, which split in two and fell to the ground in opposite directions.

Jyo turned in the direction of Salah and felt it without enough time to move out of the way. The ground erupted beneath his feet as the vort Salah had clobbered earlier burst out from underground. Not being able to avoid the attack, Jyo did the next best thing. He took one step and positioned himself right where the vort's head would emerge, and using the Force to steady himself, rode the vort like a turbolift until it reached its full height.

The vort looked around, puzzled. It could smell Jedi, but could not see any. Jyo did not give it a chance to figure it out. He drove his lightsaber into the top of the vort's skull and yanked left causing the blade to tear out of the side of the vort's head. Jyo leaped off and paid no attention as the vort fell dead to the crater floor. He noted that Salah had taken down another vort, and was in the process of dispatching the last one. Knowing this, Jyo deactivated his lavender lightsaber and clipped it to his belt. He then began to walk toward Salah as she Force kicked the vort in the chest, bringing it to the ground, then with one swing of her lightsaber, slit the creature's humungous throat.


	20. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

'But if all you wanted was to see me and Cordell fight, why didn't you release Cordell from your control once I rendered him disabled with my Force lightning attack? Why take control of his very body and force him to do your bidding?' Denz asked Pan.

'Truthfully, it was because we believed the dark side to be stronger. A vast majority of our race had bet on Cordell's victory. Therefore, I made contact with only you in an attempt to level the playing field.'

'But instead I became too powerful for even you to control.' Denz finished.

'Yes. This posed a problem, for you see our race is one that values our secrecy, and because most of my species had expected Cordell to kill you, we did not see the harm in revealing one of our own to you, Denz Solo.'

'But now Cordell is aware of your existence as well.' Denz stated.

'Sadly, yes. He could have proved valuable as a future source of entertainment, but once he has killed you, I will have to order him to kill himself. Even as we speak I am regaining control of Cordell's body. It will no longer matter if you are inside his head or not.'

Denz sensed that he was not bluffing. 'Cordell! I don't know if you can still hear me, but if you can, please listen. Don't allow yourself to be controlled. Fight back. Use your abilities. I've always sensed that you've had them. You just never believed that you did. Well now you've seen what you can really do, so start using them the right way and not…'

Denz found himself abruptly pulled back into reality. His right arm was raised, holding one of his lightsabers ignited over his head to block the attack by the Pan-enslaved Cordell. Denz leaped backward and studied the emotionless expression on his cousin's face. He was unable to determine if his words had had any effect.

He could only hope that Cordell would regain control soon. Denz was out of ideas. He could not keep up his defensive strategy forever. He was bound to make a mistake eventually, and then it was all over.

Pan was playing on the fact that Denz did not want to kill Cordell. Even disabling Cordell had proven futile, as Pan could manipulate his body no matter what state it was in.

_Come on, Cordell. You've got to take control!_

Jyo gave Salah a high five when he reached where she stood over the dead vort's body. They smiled, but before either of them could speak, a strange feeling came over them. Their vision blurred, and the two closed their eyes and shook their heads to clear it. When they opened their eyes again, they found that they were no longer seeing what the other was seeing.

Neither one of them had felt the soul-meld disconnect, but now that it had, both Jyo and Salah suddenly felt exhausted.

"Boy! That melding stuff sure takes it out of you." Salah said as she plopped down on the ground.

Jyo remained standing but bent over to catch his breath. "It's a good thing…we finished them off…when we did. Or it might have cut out in the middle of things…and we would have been in trouble."

"Uh, we still might be." Salah was sitting near the top of the incline of the crater and was looking past Jyo, over the rim of the opposite side of the crater. Salah pointed past him as she spoke.

Cordell had heard Denz's final words before he was cut off. All this time he had despised Denz, and for what? Being better than he was?

_How could I have been so childish? Blinding myself with feelings of loathing, I couldn't know I was being controlled……Well now I know! AND BOY AM I TICKED OFF!_

Cordell could sense him. The creature that Denz had called Pan. Cordell somehow moved his subconscious to where Pan's mind resided…at least for the moment.

The creature was small and wore a cloak similar to that of a Jedi's. This enraged Cordell further. _How dare you disgrace the Jedi by wearing their garments!_

Pan had apparently not noticed Cordell's presence, as he seemed startled by Cordell's sudden outburst._ Silence!_ Pan commanded._ I am in control now!_

_That's where you're wrong._ Cordell suddenly felt the familiar shape of a lightsaber in his hand…his lightsaber. The one he had painstakingly constructed back on Jedron. But also the one he had wielded against friends and loved ones. _The one I will now use to rid myself of you; the wretched being that had enslaved my body! RELEASE ME!_

With that Cordell activated the acid yellow blade and struck Pan down. The small creature shrieked and disappeared with a flash of light.

Denz had locked sabers with Cordell, but because of his injured rib, Denz was slowly losing the battle. Just as he was about to eject his second lightsaber out of the arm of his robe, activate it, and impale Cordell, Denz noticed that the blank expression had left his cousin's face. It was replaced with one of despair. Denz could also sense that Cordell's presence was strong in the Force; no longer the dull hum it had been.

Simultaneously, the pair deactivated their lightsabers and took a step back. Denz raised an eyebrow questioningly.

Cordell nodded. "He's gone. It's just me again."

Denz smirked. "And that's better how?"

Cordell tried to contain his laughter but failed. The two chuckled for a minute before turning and seeing the army of vorts on the other side of the crater. They sensed that Jyo and Salah were somewhere inside the crater, and did not hesitate as they dashed down the slope.

They found the pair standing, if not a little tired looking. Both Jyo and Salah shot Denz a look, but he nodded to say that Cordell was back to normal.

The obscene number of vorts was starting to pour into the crater; it looked like liquid into a bowl. Jyo, Salah, Cordell, and both of Denz's lightsabers came to life. The four stared defiantly into the face of certain death. All were tired and worn from previous bouts. Together they could probably take out the first couple hundred or so, but the thousands that followed would grind them into space dust.

Salah lightly smacked Denz in the back of the head.

He turned his head and asked. "What was that for."

"Parading around as that Trey Jint character and being positively infuriating." She grinned.

Denz did not respond.

"Hey, you had something to do with that gigantic explosion before you and Nayanll disappeared underground, right?"

Denz nodded once. "Yes. But I'm afraid I used up the last of my plasma mines on that bunch of vorts."

"Oh."

The group fell silent. Waiting in tense anticipation as the vort horde drew ever closer.

The first of the vorts was still a hundred yards away, when the group of young Jedi heard it. The _Twilight Trekker_ streaked overhead and circled about as it reached the far end of the vort army.

Jyo zoomed in with his optical enhancers (finally thought of something that sounds better than glasses) to see that Kam had dropped two concussion bombs. The group could see their detonation in the distance.

Unfortunately, as Denz knew, the _Twilight Trekker_came equipped with only two of the bombs, and while dropping them had indeed put a dent in the vorts' numbers, there were still far too many for the weary young Jedi to handle.

On the _Twilight Trekker_'s next flyover it dropped what looked like a bunch of spare parts and other debris.

_THOOM!_

The sound was almost deafening as the pile of junk crushed dozens of vorts beneath its sheer weight. The group had retreated to the opposite side of the crater now so they could better see what was happening.

Jyo surprised everyone when he said. "Zeek is standing on top of the debris!"

Before anyone could respond, the pile of junk started to move. Faster and faster until it was just a storm of debris, and at the eye of that storm was Zeek. They could all sense him now.

The tornado started to move. Tearing through the bodies of some vorts, while scooping others up into its current before flinging them away like they were nothing.

The _Twilight Trekker_ came to hover behind the four young Jedi, allowing Luke, Ben, Tay, and Din Holnt to disembark. The four Jedi, fresh from the sidelines, jumped in front of Jyo and the others; each activating their own lightsaber. More than one eyebrow was raised when Din activated his own weapon; the blade of which was about three times the size of a normal lightsaber. The extra length, however, seemed to make it fit well with the giant that wielded it.

As the eight Jedi engaged the front lines of the vort army, Kam took the _Twilight Trekker _to the fringes of the battlefield and used its laser cannons to mop up any stray vorts that had been scattered or thrown by Zeek's tornado.

Denz could sense that already the vorts' numbers had been cut to less than half, and he now felt confident that they would prevail. _Just so long as there are no more unforeseen obstacles._ He thought to himself. He did not know if it was just him, but it seemed strange that the Twi'lek Tay Norat'k was fighting alongside of them. The last Denz could remember of her was that startled little girl in the hospital room where he had recovered from his wound. And now that seemed so long ago. Denz could tell that she had changed, but he could also sense the underlying doubt that seemed ever present in her.

Knowing the others could look out for themselves alright, Denz made sure he watched Tay's back throughout the battle. The fighting slowly wore down and finally ended. While Luke, Ben, and Din mopped up the few remaining, though scattered vorts, Zeek and Tay helped the other, exhausted young Jedi onto the _Twilight Trekker._

Cordell, Jyo and Salah devoured the rations they were given, but Denz merely stood off to the side staring at the open hatch. He seemed agitated.

When Luke boarded the ship, Denz pulled him aside instantly. He told the Jedi Master everything about Pan and his species' special ability.

Luke nodded. "I will contact Jedron at once. A small group of Jedi will be assigned to maintain a mental barrier around the Jomes and the immediate area. I'll also instruct Tahiri to call back any of the younger Jedi out on missions at the moment."

Denz thanked the Jedi Master before saying that he needed some time to think and heading for one of the ship's living quarters.

Luke went immediately to the Holonet transmitter and contacted Jedron, relaying the information that Denz had given him.

An awkward silence was present as Jyo, Cordell and the other young Jedi relaxed in the lounge. All eyes were on Cordell, but no one said anything. Cordell could sense the hostility, as controlled as it was.

"Just say it." He sighed.

"What I don't understand is how you can just sit there, totally calm, when you _killed_ Nayanll!" Salah burst out.

"And you never even said you were sorry or asked us to forgive you." Tay added.

"Denz had said that he forgave me, and implied that you would as well. I guess he was wrong."

"No, Cordell. We do forgive you. It's just…" Zeek started to say.

"We do?" Tay interrupted.

"I think you better stop speaking out of turn, Zeek." Salah scowled.

"Guys!" Jyo interjected. "Cool it."

No one else spoke. Zeek, Tay and Salah crossed their arms, and Cordell was looking, almost pleadingly at his brother.

Jyo took a deep breath, removed his glasses, rubbed his eyes, and replaced them. "We are all a bit tense after the entire ordeal here on Duro, but that does not mean we can let it out by making hurtful statements."

"But…"

Jyo held up a hand, and Salah withdrew her objection. "While your accusations are true, as Jedi we are not supposed to let such things govern our behavior. Remember, the Jedi Code states '…there is only peace'. And forgiveness is a huge step toward attaining that peace, that calm."

Jyo paused for a moment to let his words sink in. Tay and Salah really seemed to have been convinced by Jyo's argument. Then Jyo turned his attention to Cordell. "And how do you feel?" Was all he asked.

"How do I feel?" Cordell seemed baffled.

Jyo nodded.

"Well … horrible! I mean … I killed someone! How would you feel?"

"And yet you seem to hide this feeling very well. Why?"

Cordell shrugged. "I guess its because I already know that I'm forgiven. By Denz and Zeek at least. And they're the ones I hurt the most in my rampage."

"You do understand that there are going to be repercussions for you actions do you not?" Jyo asked.

Cordell nodded solemnly. "And I am ready to do whatever it takes to redeem myself."

Jyo nodded as if to say "that's that". He rose and left the room. Making his way deeper into the ship, he stopped in front of the room that Denz had chosen to occupy. He knocked lightly. The door swung open at his touch.

Denz was seated cross-legged on the bed, his eyes closed. He opened them, smiled and rose to embrace his cousin. Denz sat back down on the bed, and Jyo plopped down into a chair.

"So it's finally over." Jyo said.

"You mean the Cordell thing? Yeah, it's over. But this is much bigger than just Cordell." Denz repeated again what he knew of Pan and his species.

"But Master Luke it definitely going to take care of something like that. Why worry?" Jyo said when Denz had finished.

"Think about it. Pan said that his species had been here since before the Vong invasion, and yet no one had ever reported their existence."

"I think everyone was a little too preoccupied with the Vong trying to take over the galaxy to notice a new species. Plus, with their mental abilities they could have simply made everyone they came in contact with, forget them."

Denz shook his head. "That doesn't seem to fit with what Pan said about them liking their privacy. They don't seem like they would take uncalculated risks. That's the very reason they revealed themselves to me. They thought their secret would die with me."

"Wait, you aren't thinking about going out and looking for them yourself are you?"

Denz shrugged. "I don't know. It won't be a secret if I do, so you'll know if it ever comes to that."

Jyo nodded as he rose. He turned and left the room.

As he left, Denz was tempted to ask him about him and Salah, but decided it best just to see how things turned out. Denz sighed and let himself fall back into the Force. _Everything seems at peace for the moment, but how long will that last?_


	21. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

It was just shy of a year later that Denz announced the completion of a device he called the Force generator. It was a machine capable of harnessing and recycling the Force energy fed into it. Simply put, the group of Jedi that had been protecting Jedron's youth with their mental barrier, could now feed a set amount of Force energy into the machine, which would then utilize the energies to create and sustain the mental barrier for an indefinite amount of time.

In the past months, not much had happened. All the younger Jedi abroad returned safely and continued their training planet-side. Nothing had been reported concerning strange Jedi behavior that could be the result of the strange new species. In fact, there was a total absence of any proof of their existence. The only knowledge that remained of them was in the minds of Cordell Durron and Denz Solo.

"Now that my work on the Force generator is complete I really feel that I should be out there looking for these … psylons or whatever you decided to call them." Denz pounded a fist on the table.

He sat in Tahiri's quarters along with Luke, Ben, Jyo, Salah, Zeek and Cordell.

"I understand your desire to catch these things, but what do you plan to do that is any different than what we're already doing?" Luke asked.

"Well, I figure that because I actually know about the psylons and they've made contact with me before, they'll be anxious to be rid of me. Here on Jedron I'm too safe. Out there they might take more of a chance and possibly reveal more about themselves than they had ever intended."

"It will take some time to call back one of the Jedi already searching, so that he can accompany you." Ben said.

Denz shook his head. "That won't work. Only on my own can I really go about exposing the psylons my way. Another Jedi would only get in the way."

"I do realize and respect the fact that we have given you the title of Jedi Knight based on your actions on Duro," Luke said, "but you are still young. Probably the youngest Jedi Knight ever to be given the title."

"Master Skywalker." Jyo said as he rose. "Can you honestly sit there and say that you do not believe Denz mature enough to undertake this mission? I know I couldn't."

Denz smiled his thanks as Jyo sat back down.

Luke Skywalker sighed as he leaned back in his chair, then a grin crept across his face. "I have a feeling you are going to leave with or without my consent. So at the risk of having you escape the planet again, I agree to your solo mission."

Denz stood first and said. "Oh, and Master Skywalker. I would also like it to be one of those 'don't call us we'll call you' deals."

"May the Force be with us all!" Was Luke's only response.

For the next several weeks, Denz spent his time training. Through intense meditation he sharpened his mind, and through strenuous exercise he pushed his physical strengths to their limits. Then the day came that Denz would leave Jedron. Not knowing when or if he would ever be back.

Denz walked slowly across a meadow not far from the Jomes. Beside him, Jyo, Cordell, and Zeek kept pace. He wanted to spend the last few moments with his family. The four of them had been through a lot, and it was nice to just be together.

"Here's good." Denz said suddenly.

At this the four of them sat down on the soft ground in a circle.

"I just want to say that I'm going to miss all of you." Denz began. "And," he added as he reached in a pocket on his robe. "So you don't forget me, I made you all a little something."

Immediately Jyo looked like he was getting ready to run. "Uh oh!"

Denz smiled. "Relax, Jyo. These don't explode or anything dangerous like that." Denz reached out and handed something to each of them.

It was a small, square piece of metal they found in their hands.

Before anyone could inquire, Denz said. "Gently push on it with the Force."

They did, and immediately a holographic image appeared. Jyo's was the scientific dissection of a human brain, Cordell's was a clenched fist, and Zeek's had an open palm with an object suspended above it.

"Oh, wow!" Zeek said.

"See, I knew you could make something simple if you wanted to." Jyo said as he punched him in the shoulder.

"Thank you, Denz. This means a lot to me." Cordell said quietly.

Denz smiled even bigger. "I'm glad you like them." He had made his own into a necklace, which he now pulled out of his shirt and activated. His was the holographic image of two crossed lightsabers. After they had seen it, Denz put it away.

"Promise me one thing." Denz said after several moments of silence.

They all nodded.

"That no matter what happens, you will all become great Jedi and follow the path of the light."

"I promise." The three of them said at once.

Denz rose and the others followed suit. "I think that's about as thorough as goodbyes get, so I should probably get going."

Denz stared off into the distance for a moment, and a few seconds later a Jedi Starfighter streaked into view; then set itself down a few feet away. Denz climbed onto the ship as the cockpit hatch opened; then he plopped into the pilot's seat.

"Hey, Denz!" Jyo called over the whine of the Starfighter's engines. "Don't go changing on us!" He said then smiled knowingly.

Denz smiled back. "I'm afraid it's too late for that. As a matter of fact, call me … Dax!" Then the cockpit hatch sealed shut, and the Jedi Starfighter lifted from the ground, rotated around, and blasted off into the sky.

The three friends watched until the flicker of his engines disappeared in the distance. "May the Force be with you." They whispered in unison.


	22. From the Author

**From the Author**

Once again I am required to state the fact that the Star Wars universe, characters, and anything concerning Jedi and the Force are not my ideas. I am merely getting enjoyment out of using the ideas that George Lucas gave to the world.

Couple things I want to point out about _Dark Path _and any future stories I may do:

I know several things in the story may be "stretching the Force", or at least the guidelines set by Lucas. These instances are merely my imagination taking his ideas and running with them. (not literally)

I also apologize for not giving the real Star Wars characters (Luke, Ben, Tahiri, etc.) the recognition and credit they deserve. As well as not establishing much of a background for some of the newer characters I introduced. (Kam Twoplintor, Din Holnt, Tay Norat'k, etc.) I simply took on too many characters at once without having the experience to elaborate on each of them.

As you probably noticed, however, I did give Salah Jem a little bit of a history. This is because I plan on using her in a future series, and also because she has established ties with another main character (Jyo).

The next series will take place several years in the future, focusing more on just the main character, Dax. And aside from Salah, I would like to try and bring in maybe one or two other supporting characters. So to help me decide I would be most appreciative of any e-mails with the name of the character you might want to see again and possibly a short reason or what you liked about them.

February 24, 2004, is my prospective leave date for the Air Force. Seeing as the _Dark Path_ was completed on January 19, 2004, I do not know when I will be writing again. Until then, "May the Force be with You" and God bless.

P.S. I apologize to my readers for the delay in getting this story published to the site. Between getting chapters 1- 3 up and then the rest of the story I had gotten a new computer. And although I had all the data saved from my old one I just hadn't gotten around to getting the chapters separated and submitted. This is the rest of it and if you liked it, I'm glad. I am in the proccess of working on the final story in the trilogy. I have no idea how long it will take me to complete, but I foresee it being somewhere around twice as long as the first two. And whether or not I publish them chapter by chapter or wait until it's finished is yet to be determined :). Until next time...

-Denny Grube


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